Mistakes We Make
by KamalaC
Summary: Dean and Castiel were once inseparable, before Dean's dad died. Years later, Castiel's big brother Gabriel finds Dean working as a prostitute, and decides to try and help him - but does Dean want to be saved? Dean/Gabe/Cas *Continued in We All Fall Down*
1. Chapter 1

A/N: My first purely Supernatural fic! Yay! Inspired by the awesome fics of Scyllaya, who is awesome. I decided to do a NaNoWriMo in June, so hopefully by the end of the month we'll have a 50,000 word fic. Let's see if I manage it.

Summary: All-human AU. From the ages of 10 - 15, Dean and Castiel were inseparable. Then Dean's dad died, and rather than lose his brother to CPS, Dean took him and ran. Years later, Castiel's big brother Gabriel finds Dean working as a prostitute, and decides to try and help him - but does Dean want to be saved?

Pairings: Not sure yet if it's going to be Dean/Gabriel, Dean/Cas or Gabriel/Dean/Cas. I'm open to suggestions.

Chapter warnings: None

-MWM-

The first time Dean and Castiel met, they were ten. Dean was sitting by himself, the new kid at school, yet again. He hated it, always moving around, but that's just how it was. His dad was a Marine, and while he hadn't been out of America since before Dean was born, they still had to move a lot. Now that his little brother Sammy was ready to start school, however, he'd decided to keep them in one place. So he'd applied for – and gotten – a job at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

So now Dean was sitting, by himself, at Bradley Hills Elementary School, and glaring at his shoes. He'd already gotten into a fight with one of the other kids, and was now unsure how to approach anyone else.

"What did your shoes do to deserve that look?"

Dean looked up, seeing another boy standing close by. He was shorted than dean – though not by much – and his hair was darker – again, not by much. His face was rounder, and his eyes were a brilliant, bright blue in contrast to Dean's hazel. His head was tilted to the side, and though he had a smile on his face, Dean could tell that it wasn't mocking. The other boy seemed genuinely interested in him.

Dean blinked, then shrugged.

"They didn't walk away when I got in a fight."

"I wouldn't blame them. Rory's a dick."

At that, Dean burst out laughing. The other boy looked confused, as though he didn't know what it was that was funny. Once he'd calmed down, Dean grinned at him.

"Who told you that?"

"My big brother, Gabriel." The boy then sat down next to him, before pointing at a group of boys a little older than them, playing on a climbing frame. "The one right at the top."

"Isn't he gonna fall?" Dean was a little concerned at how Gabriel was climbing so high, constantly moving, but his new friend just shrugged.

"Probably not. He does this a lot." The two sat quietly watching for a few minutes. "My name's Castiel."

"I'm Dean."

"I know. You're in my class."

"Oh, right."

There was silence for a few minutes, before Castiel reached into the satchel Dean hadn't noticed earlier and pulled out some toy cars.

"You wanna play?"

-MWM-

That evening, Dean listened as Sammy chattered away to their dad about his first day of school. He'd made friends with several of the other boys – he'd always had a talent for making friends – and was looking forward to going back the next day.

"And what about you, Dean?" John asked, turning to his older son. "What was your day like?"

"It was okay. I made a friend."

"That's great," John smiled encouragingly. Dean had been getting into fights at school ever since he started, fuelled by the fact that they rarely stayed in one place for more than a term. So to hear that he was actually mixing with the other kids was a huge relief to his father. "What's his name?"

"Castiel Novak."

"That's a funny name," Sam piped up. Dean sent him a brief glare, which surprised John.

"No it's not. Him and his brothers are named after angels."

"It's still a funny name."

"Shut up, Sammy," Dean muttered.

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

"Boys!" John was shocked at the sudden animosity between his sons. "That's enough. Sam, it's not polite to say things about someone's name. After all, he didn't choose it."

"It suits him," Dean glared at his dinner.

"Okay," John nodded. "I'm glad that you're making friends, Dean. Try and keep it up, yeah?"

"I don't like the other kids," Dean shrugged. "Cas doesn't either. They're mean to him."

Suddenly, it clicked for John. Although Dean was often in fights, he'd never been a bully. It was more that he couldn't stand sitting back while anyone else was bullied, so he'd take on the brats and stand up for the weaker kids. Now he seemed to have attached himself to another one he saw as needing protection, as evidenced by the way he stood up for this Castiel to his brother.

He wondered if a friendship like that would last, and hoped that it would. Dean needed friends.

-MWM-

Dean and Cas sat together in nearly every class. Despite the other kids not particularly liking either of them, the two didn't seem to care. Castiel had always been considered odd, and Dean's attachment to him meant that he was also pushed to the outside. His fight with Rory on his first day didn't help matters much.

A few days after their first meeting, John was talking to one of the receptionists at work. He'd found that the women accepted him much more easily than he'd thought, until he realised it was because of his sons. They didn't see him as a threat, due to his single parent status. It was quite useful, really, as he could now get much more information about the local area as it would affect his sons.

"Castiel Novak?" Chelsea narrowed her eyes in thought. "Ah, yes, I remember him. My eldest was in the same grade as his older brother Lucian."

"Lucian and Castiel?" John commented. "Were their parents trying to get them picked on?"

"I know. Out of four boys, two got weird names, two relatively normal. It's actually quite sad – the mother, Grace, died giving birth to Castiel, and the father ran out on them a few years ago. Michael's the eldest, he was nineteen at the time, and Lucian wasn't far off turning eighteen, so they were allowed to stay together without being put into foster care."

"That's gotta be tough on them," John winced in sympathy. There was also anger there – what sort of father would abandon his sons like that? And how would it affect the boys?

"From what I gather, Castiel's a pretty good kid," Chelsea shrugged. "Michael's the one that pretty much raised him to begin with, so he behaves. Gabriel's a couple years older, and quite the handful – he might be named after an angel, but he's been referred to as a little demon for years." She laughed a little in remembrance. "He has a fondness for pranks, and a knack for finding out things he's not supposed to. He's closer to the other brother, Lucian." Here her mouth twisted a little, and John knew that it wasn't going to be good. "Lucian and Michael don't get along. I think the only reason Lucian stayed at home was so that the younger ones wouldn't be put into care."

"Sounds like a difficult situation," John sighed. "How do they get by?"

"Michael was accepted into the Marines straight out of high school. And Lucian managed to get work for a politician… can't remember which one now, but he's earning a decent wage. Between the two of them, they make enough to keep the little ones in school, clothed, fed, and with shelter."

"I guess it's a good thing Dean's befriended him then," John considered. "Sounds like Castiel could use a friend."

-MWM-

It wasn't until several weeks later that John actually met any of the Novak boys. He'd said that Dean could invite Castiel around to play on the weekend, and to give him their number so his brothers could call. It was Thursday evening, not long after dinner, when the phone rang.

"Winchester," John answered in his usual manner.

"Good evening, Mr Winchester," a smooth voice responded. "My name is Lucian Novak, I believe my brother is friends with your son?"

"Yeah, that's right," John nodded, even though it couldn't be seen. "Dean's been wanting Cas to come over, is that okay?"

"If I said no, I'd have two ankle-biters out for my blood," Lucian said with a laugh. "Possibly three if Dean joins in."

"Huh?" John frowned in confusion.

"Ah, if Cas gets angry about something, Gabriel goes into overprotective mode," Lucian explained. "The benefits of being so close in age to each other, but so far away from we older brothers."

"I hear ya. Dean's like that with his little brother too. So, this weekend work for you guys? If you want, I can bring Cas back here Friday night, and return him to you Saturday afternoon."

"That sounds great," Lucian agreed. "Just don't give him apple juice, he has a mild allergy."

"Thanks for the warning."

"No problem, he knows about it and won't try to get any, but we figure it's best to tell anyway."

-MWM-

The next day, John arrived at the school to see Dean dragging a smaller boy towards him by the hand. The other boy didn't seem fazed by the transportation, so he figured that it was a regular thing.

"Hi Dad! This is Cas. Cas, this is my dad." Dean was grinning, obviously happy about getting to spend time with Castiel outside of school.

"Hello, Mr Winchester," Castiel nodded a greeting. John was struck by the apparent maturity of the ten-year-old, and nodded back.

"Hey guys. You can call me John, okay Cas?" Castiel tilted his head slightly, considering, then nodded. "Great. Now, where's Sammy?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Some Cas/Dean puppy-love in this one. Also underage… situations. Not intercourse, but they're teenagers.

-MWM-

It quickly grew into a routine – every Friday, Castiel and Dean would go home with one family, then part at some point on either Saturday or Sunday. Sometimes Gabriel would come over with Castiel, having struck up an antagonistic friendship with Dean – either they were great friends or worst enemies, it tended to change from minute to minute.

John had now met Lucian a few times, and he couldn't shake the feeling that the kid was bad news. He seemed to be doing a decent job of bringing up his siblings, but even though he was highly charismatic, there was something about him that John didn't like. Possibly it was the way he rarely looked at Castiel, seeming to favour Gabriel over their littlest brother. Possibly it was that Gabriel had told him Lucian and Michael fought a lot when the eldest was at home. John wasn't sure, he just didn't like him.

For all that though, Dean and Castiel had become inseparable. It was a fairly common thing to see Dean dragging Castiel around by the hand, the two of them off on some grand adventure that made no sense to the adults around them. It was always trouble when Sam and Gabriel were added to the mix as well, but John found he didn't mind so much. His sons were having fun, and interacting with other kids. All was right in his world.

-MWM-

Years passed in the comfortable routine – or not so comfortable when Gabriel's pranks were added to the mix – and soon enough Dean and Castiel were starting middle school. They didn't see each other quite so much during the day now, having some different classes, but the way they saw it, they now had more to talk about when they were together.

They made it halfway through the school year before things really started to change. It was the weekend after Dean's fourteenth birthday, and the two were sitting in Dean's back yard, close together for the warmth. Sam had a bad cold and was stuck inside, and with his temper it was hard to stay with him. So the friends had retreated while John took care of his youngest.

"I hate it when he's sick," Dean muttered, kicking at the ground a little. "Makes me wanna punch something, but there's nothing to punch."

Castiel grinned a little at that. He knew what Dean meant – he always did – but said nothing. He'd been on the receiving end of that attitude many times in his life, with Gabriel being so protective. There was also the fact that he often felt the same way about Dean. Despite still being shorter, Castiel was a few months older, and was protective in his own way.

"And then he says something stupid, so I wanna punch him, but I'm not gonna 'cause he's just a kid, and he's sick, and it wouldn't' be a fair fight."

Castiel rolled his eyes. Dean caught the look and scowled for a moment, then grinned back.

"Yeah, okay, so I don't really care about whether a fight's fair or not. I just hate seeing Sammy helpless."

"Dean?"

"Yeah, Cas?"

"Shut up."

With that, Castiel leaned forward and pressed his lips gently to Dean's. The younger boy froze, blinking, not entirely sure of what was going on. After a few seconds, Castiel pulled back and raised an eyebrow.

"Wha… Cas?"

"Yes?"

"Dude, you just… kissed me!"

"I'm aware of that."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to."

"Oh." Dean blinked again. This was new. It wasn't that he was particularly against gay people or anything, it was just that he'd never thought about Cas in that way before. He looked up, to see Cas just looking back, waiting. "Um… do you want to do it again?"

Cas grinned back and leaned in again. This time Dean closed his eyes properly, and tried kissing back. It was a little awkward, since neither of them really knew what they were doing beyond 'feels nice', but it didn't really matter.

This time when they pulled apart, Dean was silent for a few seconds as he actually thought about what had happened. It was a rare enough occurrence that Castiel didn't interrupt it, just waited for Dean to finish thinking.

"So… does this mean we're… boyfriends now?" Dean asked, confused. Castiel let out a small laugh.

"Maybe. Do you want to be?"

"I, uh… I don't know. This… we…"

"Then we're friends still. Just, friends who kiss now and then."

"Okay," Dean nodded. That sounded like something he could deal with. "Is that what they call 'friends with benefits'?"

"Something like that," Castiel had a wide grin on his face, the one that meant Dean had said something amusing without realising what it was. Dean shrugged internally, then leaned in to initiate another kiss. He thought he might like to be a friend with benefits for Cas.

-MWM-

Even if they sometimes kissed, not much else changed for Dean and Castiel for quite a while. Sometimes Dean caught Gabriel giving them odd looks, and he thought that the older boy might know what they were doing, but Castiel didn't seem worried. When Dean asked him about it, Castiel shrugged.

"Given that I found some vintage Muscle magazines under his mattress, I don't think he's that against it. Probably just worried 'cause we're still kids to him."

"…Why were you looking under his mattress, Cas?"

"He was at a camp, it was late, I was craving sugar…"

"Ah, gotcha."

Gabriel's sweet tooth was legendary – he seemed to exist solely on candy bars and highly sugary treats, despite his older brothers' best efforts. As a result of the disapproval, he had several secret stashes of candy in his room – and Dean was willing to bet that Cas knew about every single one. He was sneaky like that.

-MWM-

Dean lay back on his bed, arms loosely wrapped around Castiel. His best friend was lying on top of him, kissing him hard and slowly rubbing their hips together. Both were feeling apprehensive, Castiel and his family were going away for a couple of weeks. Something to do with Lucian's boss needing an assistant on a business trip, and since Michael was currently on a tour of duty, the younger brothers were going with Lucian. It didn't seem to matter that Gabriel was eighteen, and Cas was fifteen – Lucian wanted them both with him. Gabriel was more than happy to go along, since it meant getting to see New York with someone else paying, but Cas would rather have stayed at home. It was going to be the longest that he and Dean had been separated since they were ten.

Groaning into the kiss, Dean raised on hand to run it through Cas' hair. He loved messing it up even further than it usually was, and the retaliation was always worth it. Indeed, Cas let out a growl and gave a sharp thrust of his hips.

The boys had moved on from innocent kisses some time ago. Once hormones had properly kicked in, they were eager to go further, though both had different approaches. Dean was more hands-on, experimenting with what would make them both feel good. Castiel believed in research – which made them both glad that apparently Gabriel was open to either gender, since most of what Cas learned, he'd read from the magazines he swiped from his brother.

Castiel insinuated a hand between them, slowly undoing Dean's jeans before starting on his own. Dean bucked up into the contact, already eager for what he knew was going to happen.

The first time Cas had given him a hand-job had been awkward, but it felt amazing – given that he hadn't started masturbating yet, he'd been shocked at how good it felt. He'd been happy to return the favour, but always felt that Cas' hands were superior to his own.

Dean whined at a brief loss of contact as Cas leaned up a little, earning a chuckle.

"Shh, don't want your father coming in, do you?"

"Cas, please, need–"

"I know." With that, Castiel managed to pull them both out of their underwear and leaned down again. He swallowed down Dean's moan at the new contact, biting a little at Dean's lips to contain his own noise of satisfaction. This was something they hadn't tried before, but he'd read about it on the internet.

Leaning up a little again, he wrapped his hand around both of them at once. He quickly kissed Dean to muffle the sounds he was making. Even though he knew that John liked him, Cas really didn't want the ex-Marine catching them like this. It would not end well.

Once he was sure that he had control again, Cas started moving his hand, stroking them both simultaneously. Dean groaned underneath him, then moved one of his own hands to join Cas'. It was better than anything Dean had felt so far – certainly better than when it was just his own hand.

Their inexperience in general, coupled with the new sensations, meant that it wasn't long before they both tensed up, desperately trying to contain any noise as they came all over their joint hands and stomachs. Castiel managed to move to one side before losing control of his limbs, and the two lay panting for a few minutes.

Soon enough, Castiel sat up again and set about cleaning himself up. Dean just continued to lie on the bed, pouting at his friend. Cas looked over, then laughed.

"Dean, I have to go. Lucian's going to be mad enough as is – I wasn't supposed to come here, you know that."

"Why doesn't he like us hanging out any more?" Dean glared at his wall. "He used to be fine with it."

"I think he may have guessed what we get up to behind closed doors," Castiel shrugged, as though it didn't matter to him in the slightest.

"So, he doesn't like gay people?" Dean kept up the glare. "Someone should tell him about Gabriel, then."

"I don't think it's that. It's more that he doesn't like seeing me happy."

"What?" Dean sat up at that, looking furious. "What the hell is his problem? I should punch his face in."

"Wouldn't do much good, he'd just shoot you," Castiel pointed out calmly. "He still thinks it's my fault that Mom died and Dad left. Always has, always will. He put up with us being friends because Gabriel liked you too, and he couldn't object to one brother being friends with you while letting the other. But since it's not Gabriel sucking you off…"

Dean groaned at the mental image. While they'd only actually exchanged blowjobs once so far, the sight of Castiel on his knees before him was ingrained into his mind as one of the hottest things he'd seen. Cas seemed to know exactly what he was picturing, and leaned in for a quick, fierce kiss.

"I'll be back before you know it," he whispered, nuzzling into Dean's neck. "And then we can try something new."

With that, Cas quickly walked out the door, and Dean fell back on the bed.

He didn't realise that he wouldn't see Castiel again for nearly ten years.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Character death ahead, and the plot gets going. Why yes, I am horrible to my playthings, why do you ask? *innocent grin*

-MWM-

Dean sat in a chair by his father's bed, Sammy curled up into his side. John was hooked up to so many machines that Dean didn't know how he could sleep. Drugs probably had something to do with it.

They'd been like this for three days. Dean wanted his father to wake up, to get out of bed and shout at the doctors like he normally did. He wanted Sammy to go back to school instead of sitting here, silent and scared.

He wanted Cas back.

Dean had decided that was the worst part – there was no one to tell him that everything was going to be okay. Granted, Castiel probably wouldn't have said that, since he didn't believe in lying, but just having someone he knew here would have helped. He could have dealt with Sammy being scared, with his father being badly hurt, if only there was someone he could turn to for help.

But Castiel had been gone for nearly a week, and he hadn't heard anything from him. When Dean tried calling, it went straight to voicemail, and Cas hadn't called back. He'd even tried calling Gabriel, begging him to tell why Castiel wasn't talking to him, but hadn't gotten an answer to that either.

"Dean?"

Dean's head shot up; John was looking directly at him, eyes clouded a little with the pain, but still aware.

"Yeah Dad, I'm here."

"Dean… I'm not gonna make it. I can feel it. Promise me something… promise you'll take care of Sammy."

"I will, I promise," Dean nodded, feeling as tears started to gather. For his dad to admit how bad he felt, suddenly made everything real and too much to handle. He wanted to run, to get away from this horrible building, but he couldn't do that. Couldn't leave his dad to die alone.

So Dean and Sammy stayed by John's bedside, until the machines stopped beeping during the night.

-MWM-

Dean leaned against the wall, not hearing much of what was going on around them. Sammy was sitting over in the waiting room, needing some time by himself. Dean could see him from here, but was far enough away to not crowd the boy. He was trying to work out what would happen now – they had no parents, their house was rented, they were both still in school. Then he overheard two of the nurses talking, and his blood ran cold.

"Best call Child Protection… such a shame, having to put them in the system at this age."

"I just hope they manage to keep them together… poor boys need each other now."

Quietly, Dean moved away from where he'd been standing, and back to Sammy. No way were they going to take his brother away from him! He knelt down and put a hand on Sammy's shoulder, gaining his attention quickly.

"Sammy, listen, we have to go. Now."

"Go where?"

"Home, but only for a little bit. We're gonna have to go away."

"Can we go see Cas and Gabe?" Sammy asked, eyes wide. Dean's insides clenched at that, and he had to look away.

"I… probably not. They don't want to talk to us right now."

"Oh."

With that, Dean managed to get Sam up and they left. By simply walking and mostly looking at each other, they didn't draw much attention to themselves. They got home fairly easily, and Dean instructed Sam to pack just a few things that he couldn't bear to leave behind, as well as his school supplies.

"But why?"

"'Cause I promised Dad I'd take care of you. When we find somewhere to settle down, you're going back to school. Got it?"

"Okay, Dean."

While Sam was doing that, Dean moved through the house, gathering any valuables he could find. He had his dad's wallet, so he had some spare cash, and could withdraw more money until someone stopped the cards. John had taught him how to drive his car, so they'd take that too. They'd most likely be living out of the car for a while. John had even taught him the basics of being a mechanic, reasoning that if he was going to drive, he should know how to fix a car as well.

There were a few things he could maybe pawn off, but not much. John hadn't been much of a collector, preferring to spend money on useful things. So in the end, the boys loaded up the Impala's trunk with clothes and a few books, the laptop they'd been sharing, and the single photo album they had, containing pictures of their family. It wasn't much, but they couldn't afford to stay any longer.

Dean climbed into the driver's seat, Sammy sitting shotgun, and they drove off.

-MWM-

By the time anyone realised that Sam and Dean were missing, they were long gone. They didn't stop to say goodbye to any of their friends, just started driving. Instead of heading north to follow the Novaks, or even west to find some of John's friends, Dean instead headed south. It took them two days to reach New Orleans, a place they had no connections to. He did have an end-goal in mind, but for now, New Orleans was as good a place as any to disappear for a few days.

Sammy was pleased with where they were. Though he'd barely smiled since their dad died, he trusted that Dean was going to make things better. And this was an interesting town, so filled with history and ghost stories, it was enough to distract him for a while.

Dean found a garage and managed to talk them into letting him work for a few days for some spare cash. It was enough to get them a motel room for their stay, and stock up their supplies. Neither kid was particularly good at cooking, so they relied on diner food and snacks to keep them going.

In the end they stayed a week, and much to his surprise, the woman running the garage helped him swap over the Impala's plates.

"Honey, I know the look you two've got. You ain't got no one else but each other, and I'm betting that if you're caught, you're going into a home. You're doing the best you can to keep your family together. Now take the damn plates, and don't get caught."

Dean made sure to put her number into his new phone, with her request that he call if he needed help.

-MWM-

The next few days saw them go from New Orleans to San Antonio, Texas, to Roswell, New Mexico, to Flagstaff, Arizona. Sammy had picked up that they kept heading west now, but still didn't know what their eventual destination was going to be. He was enjoying the trip as much as he could, with the shadow of John's death still hanging over them, but he knew that Dean was doing his best to take care of them both.

Eventually, they reached their destination, and Sammy gaped at his big brother.

"Las Vegas?"

"Yup."

"But… why here?"

"Cause everyone's hiding something," Dean shrugged. "No one's gonna think much of a couple kids wandering by themselves, they'll just think that our parents are out gambling."

"You sure about that?" Sammy sounded a little doubtful. "It might be a different place to what the movies make it seem…"

"We'll be fine," Dean nodded sharply. "We've just gotta find somewhere I can work, so you can get back into school. We'll be fine."

-MWM-

Despite the city they were in, this was easier said than done. Dean tried the various mechanics he could find, all with no luck. Eventually, he found himself sitting on the hood of the Impala, notebook in his lap, trying to list his various skills to think of something else he could do.

A few minutes later, a sealed sandwich was placed on the notebook. Dean looked up in surprise, not having noticed the stranger approaching. It was a man not much taller than he was, average build, dark brown hair and an appraising look. He was well-dressed, obviously a businessman of some sort.

"The name's Crowley, kid. I overheard you looking for work. Gimme your spiel, I'll see if I've got anything for you." He had a strong accent, though it took Dean a moment to place it. English, he thought.

"Uh, I… I'm trying to put my brother through school. I know how to fix up cars, and I can take orders. I've dealt with money a bit." He wracked his brains, trying to think of anything else he could do.

Well, there was something Cas told him he was good at, but he wasn't going to tell a stranger he gave good hand-jobs. Not quite that desperate. Yet.

"I just… really need the work," Dean finished in a small voice, looking down. His eyes caught the sandwich, and he bit his lip. He was hungry – gas had taken up more money than he'd thought it would, and his dad's cards had been stopped pretty quickly. By making sure that Sammy didn't go without food, he hadn't always gotten enough to eat in the last couple of weeks.

"How old are you both?" Crowley asked, apparently considering. It was the most interest Dean had seen since starting to look for work.

"I'm fifteen… I'll be sixteen in a couple of months though. Sammy's eleven."

"Hm. You're gonna need somewhere to live too, I take it."

"That's why I need a job," Dean admitted. "I want to take care of him properly."

"Tell you what," Crowley said, a small smile playing on his face. "I've been looking for a new investment. You'll do nicely. I shall enrol young Sammy in school and pay the fees, and pay for the two of you to stay in a motel as residents. In return, you will work for me at half wage until you've covered any money I've spent on the pair of you. Deal?" At this, he held out his hand.

Dean stared at him. This was… surely this was too good to be true.

"What sort of work?" He asked. He knew he'd probably say yes, no matter what it was, but it would be good to know what he was getting into.

"I own a chain of brothels in the next town." Crowley let out a laugh as the colour drained from Dean's face. "Oh, don't worry kid, I wouldn't expect you to take on clients. But we need people to help clean the place, do maintenance, work the kitchens… all the behind the scenes stuff. I run a respectable business. And if someone does try and get in your pants, you're allowed to kick 'em in the bollocks. Clear?"

Dean considered for a moment more, then shrugged. It was a far better offer than anything else he was likely to get. So he reached out and shook Crowley's hand, nodding.

"I'll do it."

"Great," Crowley grinned, and Dean shivered a little. In that moment, Crowley looked like a shark who'd just caught up with a baby seal.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Yup, Dean's not making the best decisions at the moment. Still, that's what teens do when they're scared – fuck up big time.

And Cas is gonna be just as screwed up. His side of things will probably be next chapter.

-MWM-

Despite his misgivings, Crowley was as good as his word. The motel chosen for them was close to the school, so Sammy could walk easily, and not too far from the main brothel Dean was working at. Several of the girls had immediately decided that he was 'adorable', and had taken him under their wings. As a result, he already knew the best shops to go to, the best days to go to various diners for their specials, and to keep out of Crowley's line of sight as much as possible.

Danni, one of the girls, was sitting on the bed while Dean vacuumed the floor.

"If you hold up your end of the deal, Crowley's a great boss. He sees us all as his investments, and doesn't like it if a customer threatens us. He'd rather lose one customer than have one of us put out of commission. But if you cross him, he won't stop coming after you until you're so firmly under his thumb that you can't escape. Basically, he owns you. Be glad that he hates paedophiles, or you'd be working on your back."

"What about when I turn eighteen?" Dean asked, suddenly nervous. Danni shrugged.

"Depends. If you're doing well for him in your current position, he'll probably keep you. It's actually harder to keep cleaners and maintenance than it is to keep girls and boys. Or maybe he'll promote you to a bouncer, you look like you're gonna bulk up in a few years. Then again, by that time you might want to work the sheets."

Dean had considered it, and tried to take her advice as much as possible. Unfortunately, keeping out of Crowley's sight was near impossible, since one of the stipulations of paying for Sam's schooling was that the younger boy meet with him once a month to discuss his grades. Dean wasn't about to leave Sammy alone with someone they didn't really know, so he always attended the meeting as well.

Crowley didn't seem to mind. He also seemed to ignore any attitude that Dean gave him when it pertained to Sammy's wellbeing. The man was impossible to figure out.

For some reason, Sam had taken an instant dislike to Crowley. He kept his answers as short and to the point as possible, glaring sullenly now and then. Dean couldn't work it out, though Crowley didn't seem to pay any attention to it, but it was one reason Dean wouldn't leave the two alone together – Sammy could be a mouthy little brat when he wanted to be, and though Crowley had been fair to them so far, there was no telling what could happen if he lost his temper at them.

They'd kept this up for several months, when Christmas came around. Dean was awoken by a knock on the door. Before he could react, Sammy had pulled it open, then shrieked in delight.

"Dean! Look! A puppy!"

"What?" Dean stumbled out of bed, highly confused.

He looked down, seeing Sam crouched next to a box which, indeed, contained a puppy. Next to the box were a puppy bed, food dish, water dish, and a large pack of puppy food. The puppy already had a collar on, with a tag reading 'Property of Sammy Winchester'.

"Dean, you got me a puppy for Christmas!"

"No I didn't," Dean answered blearily.

"But who did then?" Sam had already opened the box and picked up the puppy, which was trying to lick his face off. This caused peals of laughter from the boy.

Dean then spotted the card and picked it up, suddenly remembering a conversation he'd had with Crowley several weeks ago.

"_So, any plans for Christmas?"_

"_A couple of the off-duty girls have invited us around for dinner. They're gonna love Sammy."_

"_I'll bet. Look, I might need you to work a few nights coming up soon. How do you feel about leaving Sam by himself?"_

"_Not gonna happen."_

"_Maybe you should get a dog. Something big to protect him."_

"_I would if I could. But the motel doesn't allow pets, and I couldn't afford one anyway."_

He'd thought that was the end of it. But no, here was a puppy, and the card confirmed it was from Crowley, apparently as a reward for Sam getting straight As. Dean shook his head, though he was grinning slightly. Yes, he was an investment to Crowley – but it came with perks, so he wasn't going to turn it down.

"Right, Crowley gave it to you. And he's told the motel owners to let you keep it. So, what are you gonna call it?"

"Um… I dunno! What sort of puppy is he?"

Dean again scanned the card, then closed his eyes and groaned.

"Rottweiler."

"Awesome!"

-MWM-

Things settled down into a routine for the brothers fairly quickly after that. For reasons unknown to Dean, the puppy was christened Bobby. Sam took care of him mostly, feeding him and taking him for walks. The two of them were doing their best to house-train him as well, which was slow going but improving. Sam made friends in school again, and was usually near the top of the class. He got involved in soccer, loving to run around with the other boys, which Dean encouraged. He attended as many of Sam's games as he could, which was quite a few.

Their birthdays came and went, both with just a small celebration between the two of them. Dean was proud of the way Sammy was handling their new life, and told him as much. Sam blushed and hid behind his dinner, earning a laugh.

When summer came around, Sam begged to be allowed to go away with a few of his friends. At first Dean was terrified of losing him and said no – until he found out that one of the kids was Danni's nephew. In fact, a few of the kids had ties to the brothel, which meant that anyone messing with the group would have Crowley to deal with.

So he reluctantly said that Sammy could go, and the adults going with the group agreed to take Bobby as well. That went a little further in soothing Dean's fears. But still, it left him on his own for three weeks, which had never happened before.

With his usual super-psychic-boss powers, Crowley had rostered Dean on to work quite a lot in those three weeks. Dean was grateful for it – cleaning was repetitive, but it kept him occupied. The girls did their best too, and while Dean missed his little brother, he was dealing with it better than he thought he would.

Upon returning, Sam clung to Dean's side like a limpet for the next week. While Dean had dealt with the separation, it soon became clear that Sammy didn't like it as much as he'd thought he would.

"Hey, that's okay," Dean grinned down at where Bobby was sitting at his feet, Sam clinging to Dean's arm as they watched a movie. "It just means that I'm an awesome big brother and it's gonna be a while before you run off and leave me."

"I won't leave you again!" Sammy declared, tightening his grip. "I missed you."

"Missed you too, little buddy," Dean managed to extricate his arm and instead wrap it around his brother.

-MWM-

The next year passed much the same. Dean had hit a growth spurt again, and at seventeen years old was now approaching six feet tall. Sammy was growing like a weed as well, which annoyed both brothers no end. In addition, Crowley had decided a few months back that Dean needed a hobby, and had enrolled him in a Kendo class, over Dean's protests that he didn't need it. Now that he was actually attending, however, he'd found that he enjoyed it a lot, and it was helping to add some muscles to his previously scrawny frame. He'd even started dating one of the guys in his class, a dark-skinned man a little older than him called Gordon.

They'd only been on a few dates, and not really done much so far, but it was nice to have someone in his life. He'd missed it, missed having someone closer to his age to talk to, someone to be intimate with. Gordon was a great kisser… and as physically different from Cas as was possible while still being male.

It was during their second summer here that Dean's life was shaken up again. He was working late, cleaning up the rooms, when he heard one of the girls scream for help. Without thinking it through, he ran towards the sound, shouldering his way through the door.

On the floor was Danni, curled up in a ball, arms over her head to try and protect herself. Standing over her, kicking her, was someone Dean didn't recognise – and it filled him with rage. He grabbed the guy by the back of the shirt and hauled him away, snarling all the while. The guy tried to wriggle out of the hold and punch Dean, but he wasn't having any of it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the guy's torso and heaved, pulling him out of the room.

"What the bleedin' hell is going on?"

Dean froze at the sound of Crowley's voice. He did not sound happy in the slightest. The pause gave the bastard a chance to react before Dean did, and he launched into his version of events.

"I was enjoying the company of a lady when this animal stormed in and attacked me! Get him off me!"

"Oh really?" Crowley raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Danni? Come out here, would you love?"

Dean heard a slow shuffling, and Danni appeared in the doorway, holding her ribs. One look at her face was enough to know how much pain she was in, coupled with her laboured breathing.

"Sir, I didn't… Said I don't do bondage. There's other girls do that, not me. I…"

"Frank," Crowley turned his head to one side, addressing one of the men behind him. "Get her to the hospital. Now. Dean?" Dean nodded to show he was listening, though he was glaring at the man he still held captive. "Get that wanker out of here. He's blacklisted."

"Yes sir," Dean ground out, before proceeding to drag the man out. He was furious at him for hurting someone that he and Sammy cared about.

Once that was taken care of, he went back inside to finish up what he'd been doing. There wasn't much left of that room to do, just vacuum the floor, and then he'd fix up Danni's room. Or at least, that was the plan, before his phone beeped at him to signal a text.

'My office now.' It was from Crowley. As usual with his texts, Dean wasn't sure whether this was good or bad – Crowley didn't get along with his phones, so spent as little time messing about with them as possible. Deciding not to chance it, Dean altered his route and went straight to the office.

Upon reaching it, he was waved straight in. Crowley was glaring at his computer screen, and Dean was instantly on edge.

"Ah, Dean. Tell me something – you're on cleaning duty. Why did you respond to the alarm?" Crowley still hadn't looked up from the screen.

"It was instinct, Sir," Dean decided to keep his answers as simple and truthful as possible.

"Hm. And rather than putting the boot in, Danni assures me that you simply did your best to remove that wanker from the room."

"Didn't want to risk Danni getting caught up again."

"Tell me, did you notice any other bouncers responding?"

"No Sir," Dean thought carefully. It had struck him as a little odd, that Crowley was the first person at the room after him.

"That would be because another wanker didn't show up for work tonight. He has now been fired, which leaves me down a bouncer." He finally looked up at Dean, giving him an appraising look. "If that's going to be your modus operandi, to respond quickly and get the girls out of danger first, then I think a job change is in order for you. Pay goes up too. What do you say?"

Dean blinked in surprise, considering it. It would mean working most nights, but Sammy was now old enough to stay on his own in the motel, especially with Bobby there. And sure, it was more dangerous, but it would definitely be interesting. The pay rise would be welcome too. He grinned and reached out to shake Crowley's hand again.

"Deal."

-MWM-

"Gordon!" Dean called out, running to his boyfriend. He quickly grabbed Gordon and kissed him, wanting to celebrate.

"Hm, always happy to see you," Gordon laughed, taken off-balance a bit by Dean's exuberance. "But what's the rush?"

"Good news – I got promoted! I'm a bouncer!"

"A bouncer? How'd you go from a cleaner to a bouncer?" Gordon looked rather confused, and Dean flushed a little.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you where I was cleaning – the Red Moon House. Now I'm a bouncer, and–"

"The Red Moon House?" Gordon frowned. "You work at a brothel?" He took a step back, and Dean blinked in confusion.

"Well, yeah, but not as a hooker. I'm–"

"You're disgusting," Gordon continued to back up, now glaring at Dean. Dean felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "How could you work somewhere like that? I thought you were taking care of your brother!"

"I am! Crowley's paying for his schooling, and for our room at the motel–"

"That's just sick," Gordon spat. "Whoring yourself out like that. I can't believe I fell for it."

"Gordon, wait–"

"No. Don't come near me again. We're through."

With that, Gordon turned and walked away, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Dean watched, feeling empty inside as yet another person he cared about left him alone.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: A fairly short one to show just how well Cas is dealing with things in Dean's absence…

Warnings: Language, underage drinking, drug use, incest (sorta), suggestive phrases… Like I said, Cas is at least as screwed up as Dean.

-MWM-

Gabriel bit back the guilt as he pulled into his driveway again. He'd been gone for a lot longer than he'd thought – stupid scholarship requirements – and he was worried about how Castiel had taken it.

It had been shortly after Dean and Sam disappeared that he'd received the news – a performing arts scholarship to attend a college in Los Angeles. He'd have to work his ass off, but it was a great opportunity, one that both Michael and Lucian had agreed he should pursue.

Castiel had tried to be supportive, but Gabriel could see how much it hurt him – first his best friend (and boyfriend, Gabriel suspected) left without a word, and now his big brother was moving to the other side of the country. When he'd offered to try and get into a college closer to home, however, Cas had told him not to be an idiot. Claimed that he wasn't a baby and didn't require Gabriel's constant presence. The spark of life had made Gabriel feel a little better about leaving.

Unfortunately, it had been nearly eighteen months since he'd left, and he hadn't come back at all. He'd had to work so that he could afford supplies and bills, and time had just slipped away from him. Now, though, it was Christmas break, and Gabriel had managed to get a week off from work to come back home. Castiel had turned eighteen at the end of October, and Gabriel was looking forward to spending time with him.

Letting himself in the front door, the house seemed quiet. Not that that was unusual, he figured – Castiel had never been a noisy child, and without Dean or Gabriel here to encourage him, he'd most likely retreated into his books.

"Hello? Anyone coming to witness my triumphant return?" Gabriel shouted as the door swung shut behind him. Soon, Lucian appeared at the other end of the hall, looking tired.

"Hey, Gabriel. Welcome back."

"Hi Luci!" Gabriel grinned cheekily, bounding over to hug his older brother. Lucian put up with it with a sigh, having resigned himself to the name years ago. "How's tricks?"

"Same as usual mostly. I'm working on the next round of speeches, should be done by dinner. We can go out and get something, sound good?"

"Sure! I'll dump my stuff upstairs." He moved to look around, then turned back. "Is Cas home?"

A shadow flickered over Lucian's face at that, and he turned back into the study.

"No. He doesn't spend much time here. He's probably down at Hangman's Tree."

"Where all the stoners used to hang out?" Gabriel asked, puzzled. Then he caught the look Lucian sent him, and his blood froze.

"Try present tense, not past," the older brother sighed and sank behind his desk.

"What? Cas? But…" The news simply didn't fit in with Gabriel's view of the world. "But you said everything was fine! Whenever we spoke, you never said anything…"

"What could you have done?"

"This," Gabriel growled and spun on his heel. Castiel had a lot of explaining to do.

-MWM-

Gabriel made it to Hangman's Tree in record time, rage lending wings to his feet. How could Cas do this? The little shit had promised Gabriel that he'd be okay!

His footsteps slowed a little as he approached the tree, sweeping his gaze over the group to try and find his little brother. He had to admit that part of his anger was at himself – after all, he hadn't really spoken to Cas since he'd left.

It took a few moments before he spotted his brother, and it came as quite a shock. Cas was lying on his back, head and shoulders in the lap of another boy, while a girl lay sprawled half on top of him. The three were sharing a joint, passing it back and forth along with a bottle of green liquid.

"Cas…" Gabriel called, suddenly drained of anger, just wanting his brother back. His heart broke a little as it took too long for the name to register in Cas' brain. As soon as it did, Castiel raised his head and tried to focus on whoever was talking to him. He blinked a bit, head tilted in familiar confusion, then shoved the girl away as a grin spread across his face.

"Gabby!" Cas shouted as he jumped to his feet – still graceful, even with an altered perception of reality – and before Gabriel knew it, he had an armful of younger brother.

Then, before he could react to the hug, he had a mouthful of younger brother as well.

"Mmph!" He tried pushing Cas away, but they were now the same height, and Cas was clinging to Gabriel as if his life depended on it. He broke the kiss eventually and nuzzled into Gabriel's neck, nearly purring in contentment, whilst several of the onlookers snickered.

"Don't mind him," the boy Cas had been leaning on spoke up. "Absinthe always makes him snugly."

Gabriel felt sick to his stomach at some of the leers being sent towards his little brother. How the hell had things gotten to this?

"Come on Cas," he decided to use Castiel's clinginess to his advantage and tugged him away from the group. "Let's get out of here."

"Hey, leave him alone," one of the others piped up, even as Cas started to follow Gabriel. "He's having fun here, aren't you doll?"

"No," Gabriel glared. "He needs to come home with me."

"Now look here," another, older man stood and tried to look intimidating. A growl from the vicinity of Gabriel's shoulder caught everyone's attention.

Castiel was snarling at the man, a low, steady growl coming from his throat even as he nuzzled against Gabriel. Everyone else backed away from him, and the first boy spoke up again.

"Yeah, uh, those pills he took… probably best not to piss him off, AJ."

"Pills?" Gabriel turned on him, eyes wide. "What sort of pills?"

"I dunno," the boy shrugged. "Cas always tries out the new stuff first. These ones… he gets snappy."

Gabriel closed his eyes briefly, drawing Cas in to hug him close. This was hell, he was sure of it – seeing his little brother broken and hurting, knowing that he hadn't been there to help when Cas needed it most.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: The Gabriel/Lucian showdown. I had great satisfaction writing that part. And Castiel seems determined to turn this into a threesome fic… not sure if I should be denying him or encouraging him. Will have to decide on that before the next chapter – requests either way would be helpful.

Warnings: Drug addiction, mentions of psychological abuse, bit of language, brotherly snogging.

-MWM-

The walk home took longer than Gabriel expected, what with Castiel's highly altered perceptions of reality. He kept stopping to investigate things like a curious puppy, but refused to remove his arm from around Gabriel's waist. Gabriel wasn't entirely sure whether to laugh or cry at the whole situation.

They ran into their next problem when they arrived back at the house. As soon as Castiel realised where they were – which wasn't until halfway up the drive – he dug his heels in and refused to move, nearly throwing Gabriel off balance.

"No!" Cas declared, glaring at the house like a petulant five year old. Gabriel blinked in confusion.

"C'mon, Castiel, we need to get you cleaned up," he tried to reason.

"Don't wanna. Lucian's in there. He's mean."

Gabriel felt things moving around in his head, slowly falling into place even as he tried to deny it. Sure, Lucian and Castiel had never been particularly close, but surely things weren't that bad.

A glance at the way Cas was holding himself, however, told Gabriel that yes, things between his brothers were that bad. He felt like an idiot for no knowing about it, and silently promised to make things better.

"Look, Castiel… I'm here now, it's gonna be okay. Like it used to be–"

"Before you left?" Cas gave a bitter laugh that sounded just plain wrong to Gabriel's ears. "Why should I trust you when you're just gonna leave again?"

"Castiel, I won't–"

"Yes you will. Everyone leaves me. Dean, you… Michael can't stand to be home more than a few days with me around, he's always leaving again. Mom left before I was even breathing, Dad never wanted me to begin with – he left to get away from me. Lucian's the only one who stays, and I'm pretty sure it's only to make sure I'm miserable."

Gabriel's insides clenched at the sudden outpouring, and fought to keep his breathing steady. Was that really how Castiel saw his life? If so, he could understand why his little brother had turned to drugs to make things better. He didn't like it one bit, but if Castiel thought that he didn't have anyone to rely on…

"I'm not leaving you alone again," Gabriel spoke low and clear, grabbing Castiel's chin and forcing him to look him in the eye. "This time when I go back to Los Angeles, you're coming with me."

"…What?" Cas whispered, trying to focus on Gabriel.

"I want you to come back with me," he repeated. "If I'd known how much you were hurting I'd have come and gotten you sooner, work be damned. But I know now, and I'm not leaving you here again. So we're gonna get you cleaned up and pack your things, then we're leaving together."

"Together," Cas repeated already looking a little more hopeful. Gabriel nodded, and once again found Castiel leaning forward to kiss him. This time it was just a quick brush of lips, and Cas grinned at him after, though Gabriel glared a little.

"You've got to stop doing that," he muttered. "Seriously Cas, you're my brother, remember?" He paused and blinked as something occurred to him, then let out a laugh. "Never thought I'd see the day when I had to remind you about propriety."

"Fuck propriety," Castiel muttered as he wrapped himself around Gabriel again, nuzzling into the warmth his brother provided. Gabriel sighed and attempted to pull him into the house again. Once more, however, Castiel proved reluctant to go inside, and Gabriel realised he'd have to resort to more drastic measures.

"CASTIEL MISHA NOVAK!" He shouted, making Cas jump and look at him in shock. "Get your scrawny ass in that house and get cleaned up! I'm not taking you on a plane smelling like an art student's dorm room! MOVE!"

That was enough to override Castiel's drug-addled brain, and he was quickly scrambling up the porch steps and through the door, Gabriel following at a slower pace. Once Cas had disappeared in the direction of the bathroom, Lucian came out of his study and raised an eyebrow at Gabriel.

"I take it you convinced the brat to clean up?"

Gabriel turned and stared at his brother, rage once more sweeping through him. The things that Cas had said before… It sounded like something he'd been told over and over again. Add the part about Lucian only staying to make him miserable, and the pieces clicked.

"Lucian, you're my brother, and I love you," he took a deep breath. "But you're a great big back of dicks."

"What did you–"

"You've been telling him that he's worthless, haven't you?" Gabriel pushed on, appalled at how his family had fallen apart. "You were supposed to take care of him, and instead you've been piling all that shit on him about how everyone's gonna leave him. It's no wonder he prefers to be high or drunk if this is what home's become!"

"I never asked to be his father!" Lucian shouted, pushed to his own breaking point. "I was still a kid when Dad left, I remember when we used to be a family! Then Cas came and everything fell apart. We'd have been better off without him."

Gabriel's arm moved before his brain caught up with it, and he punched Lucian in the jaw. The two brothers stared at each other in shock for several minutes before Cas reappeared. He obviously hadn't cleaned up, just packed a few of his things before overhearing the argument. Gabriel turned to him and felt rage again – Cas looked more shocked that someone would stand up for him than hurt at the things Lucian had been saying.

"C'mon Cas," Gabriel held out his hand, and Castiel quickly latched onto him again. "We're leaving together this time."

With that, Gabriel pulled Cas out of the house and back towards his hire-car. They'd stay at a hotel in Washington until it was time to fly back to California, and hopefully by then he'd have convinced Cas to start detoxing.

-MWM-

Castiel was silent on the drive into Washington. He didn't speak at all as Gabriel took care of finding them a room and – for some reason – requesting a few buckets and plenty of towels. He was too confused to really take anything in. All he knew was that Gabriel was back, and had promised not to leave him. He had to make sure that he didn't do anything to drive Gabriel away, had to do whatever it took to make him stay.

-MWM-

Gabriel was unaware of his little brother's train of thought. He'd managed to charm the lady at the front desk into believing that Cas was ill – not that it had taken much effort, with the way Castiel had become listless and leaned against him – and giving them a discounted room until Friday. Soon enough he'd put their things away, and was tugging Castiel into the bathroom.

"Castiel, I know you want to go to sleep, but I meant what I said earlier. You need to wash, and then you can sleep. I promise."

"You too," Cas muttered as he followed, eyes half-lidded as a rather stupid plan started to form.

"Me too what?"

"You wash too."

"Of course, Cas," Gabriel grinned a little, confused. "I'll have you know that I bathe every day."

"No," Cas moved closer again, and Gabriel's eyes widened as he realised what Castiel was proposing. "You. Me. Shower. Now."

"Whoa there, little brother," Gabriel put his hands up at chest height, stopping Castiel's advance. "Remember that talk we had before? This really isn't brotherly conduct." Castiel simply tilted his head and watched Gabriel, which was really creeping him out. "Why are you so insistent on this anyway?" Gabriel figured that if he could find that out, he might be able to work out a way to stop Cas hitting on him.

"Need you to stay," Castiel said plainly, stepping forward again so Gabriel's hands were flat on his chest. "Have to make sure you stay. If I'm a good boy for you, you'll want to stay with me."

"Cas… no," Gabriel fought to find words. How much damage had been done to Castiel… how much damage had he done to himself? "You don't have to sleep with me to make me stay. I promise, I'll stay anyway."

"But you left before," came the petulant response. "You'll leave again."

"No, I won't. I'll never leave you again. Let's just… let's just get to tomorrow with no more kissing or fondling or anything, okay? You need to be in your right mind when we have this talk."

With that, Gabriel fled the bathroom, feeling the urge to go get drunk himself. But right now, that would do more harm than good, so he instead stripped one of the beds and covered it in towels and arranged the buckets within easy reach. The next few days were going to be difficult – coming off a cocktail mix of drugs was going to get messy, and he didn't know of anyone he could call to help out. Well, no one here anyway – he had friends back in California, several of whom would know what to do. Maybe he should send them an email for suggestions.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So due to popular demand (1.5 out of 2 reviewers), this is gonna turn into a threesome. Not for quite a while thought – it's gonna take at least six months for Cas to convince Gabriel that shagging is a good idea. And Dean re-entering their lives is a few years away yet.

Warnings for this one: Drug use, probably inaccurate description of drug withdrawal, language, attempted incest.

It didn't take much coaxing to get Castiel to sleep after the shower. In fact he stumbled over to the closest one dressed only in some sweatpants and collapsed on top of the towels, asleep nearly before his head hit the pillow. Gabriel spared him a fond smile, before dragging the blankets up over him. He'd have to wait and see what shape Castiel was in when morning came.

In the meantime, he'd catch a few hours of sleep himself. Gabriel had a feeling he'd need the energy tomorrow.

-MWM-

Gabriel woke first in the morning, and quickly showered. He came back out into the room just as Castiel began stirring, and sat down in a chair by the window to watch his brother's reactions. Gabriel was curious as to how much of the previous day would be remembered.

There was grumbling from Cas' general direction, before he managed to escape from the blankets. He looked around blearily, not seeming to register that he was in a strange room or that Gabriel was close by, eventually focusing on his bag. He stumbled over to it and started rummaging around inside, apparently looking for something.

"Looking for these?" Gabriel spoke up, holding a pill bottle he'd lifted from Castiel's pack. It contained some pretty strong amphetamines – in the name of Zachariah Heyman.

"Ugh, thanks babe," Castiel ground out, straddling Gabriel's lap and snagging the pills while his brother was still in shock. He opened the bottle with practiced ease and swallowed two pills dry before Gabriel could grab his hand.

"Hey! Castiel, look at me."

Cas did then, blinking a few times before the pounding headache allowed his eyes to focus.

"Gabriel? What are you doing here?"

"Well I've spent the past day trying to avoid having my little brother jump my bones," Gabriel commented drily. Castiel flushed slightly at that, which lightened Gabriel's heart a little.

"Sorry about that. Must've had a little too much absinthe…"

"As well as the joints and random pills from strangers?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I know about that. It's been a rather enlightening twenty-four hours."

"You… punched Lucian," Castiel blinked, apparently remembering that.

"Yeah. Dick deserved it."

"You said you'd take me away, stay with me."

"Yup. I didn't realise how screwed up things were for you here, but now I know."

Castiel stared at him, and Gabriel was reminded of how close they were yet again. He knew what was going to happen as soon as Castiel lowered his head, but there wasn't much he could do from this angle. As Cas pressed their mouths together, Gabriel started mentally bitching about overly clingy and affectionate relatives. Deciding to try something to make Cas back off, he bit down sharply on Castiel's lower lip. The only effect it seemed to have was to make Castiel whine in the back of his throat and try to get closer to him. _Apparently he likes it rough_, Gabriel thought even as he tried to come up with a way out of this. Gathering his strength, he finally managed to shove Castiel hard enough to send him sprawling to the floor.

"Ow! Fuck, what was that for?" Castiel muttered as he stared up at Gabriel, eyes wide.

"Shouldn't that be my line?" Gabriel tried to glare back, but was unable to hold it at Castiel's hurt look. "Cas, you're my brother, remember? Kissing and groping isn't part of the socially acceptable behaviour for siblings."

"Oh," Cas blinked. "But it's how I normally say thank you. It's how everyone showed approval or acceptance."

"So you don't remember how last night you tried to get me into the shower with you?" Gabriel asked, leaning forwards a little. "Cas, you tried to get me to sleep with you to make sure I'd stay. This isn't okay, this is royally screwed up. You can't go around using sex to get the things you want, and especially not with me. Do you understand?"

Castiel looked up at him for several seconds, before turning and crawling back to his bag. He emptied it out and found a small plastic bag with several different pills in it. Gabriel's eyes widened, and he made it over before Cas could open the bag.

"No! Cas, don't you dare swallow any of them."

"Why not?" Cas bit out, trying to keep hold of the bag. "Why do you care what I do to myself?"

"Because you're my little brother, and I don't want to see you hurting yourself!"

"But it's okay for you to hurt me?" The bitterness was almost palpable, and Gabriel winced before he could stop himself.

"In case you've forgotten," he managed to respond in an even tone, "I offered to try for a school closer to home. I offered to have you come stay with me. You said you were fine. When I realised how bad Lucian was treating you I punched him, don't you dare think that I don't care about you."

Castiel finally stopped struggling, and instead curled up on the floor, his head near to Gabriel's leg.

"I can't do this," he whispered, hand still making clutching motions towards the bag Gabriel now held. "I can't face reality without help."

"So I'll help you," Gabriel promised, running a hand through Castiel's hair. "But I won't give you drugs, and I'm not going to sleep with you."

"I can't…"

"Yes you can. You're going to detox, and I'm going to be right here with you, and then you're coming back to Los Angeles to live with me. That's how it's going to be, so stop arguing."

"…okay Gabby."

Gabriel closed his eyes and smiled at the childhood nickname. It had been something Dean started, and which Cas quickly picked up. Pondering that, Gabriel opened his eyes again, reaching out and running a hand through Castiel's hair.

If Dean had still been around, would he have ended up like this too? Would the two friends have gone down this path together? Or would they have kept each other strong, kept each other from falling like this? He'd never know now, but he did wonder whether Dean was as messed up by himself as Cas was.

-MWM-

The next four days were spent with Castiel barely able to hold down food, shivering and sweating as his body re-learned how to function without the constant stream of drugs. Gabriel was intensely glad that the withdrawal sapped Castiel's strength, otherwise he knew that his little brother would have killed him sometime during the second day. Probably with the toilet brush.

He was also glad that he'd thought to order so many buckets – they were placed so that while there was a clear line from Castiel's bed to the bathroom, it was also at most a few steps from anywhere in the main room to get to a bucket. Watching Cas throw up everything they put in his stomach was torture for Gabriel, who had never been particularly good with other people's illness to begin with.

The delusions weren't fun to deal with either. Several times Cas seemed to have an argument with someone who wasn't in the room, and Gabriel just had to let him be. When he cringed and tried to cover his head with his hands, however, Gabriel gave in and climbed into bed with him, holding him close and whispering any nonsense he could think of to drown out the other voices.

During those four days, Castiel continued to show his affection for Gabriel, though he'd stopped trying to kiss him. He did, however, lean into any contact offered, and found it easiest to sleep when Gabriel held his hand.

On the fifth day, the delusions seemed to have faded, along with most of the other symptoms. Castiel was still as weak as a newborn kitten, though Gabriel figured that was more from the lack of food than anything else. They decided to get Cas cleaned up again and try to get some food into him, so once again Gabriel helped him into the bathroom, an act which had become increasingly familiar lately.

"So, what do you want first? Shower?" Gabriel hinted. Whilst he'd been managing to clean off any vomit, Cas hadn't been able to stand upright long enough for a proper shower. Stale sweat wasn't an appealing smell to Gabriel.

"Brush teeth," Castiel whispered instead. "Think something crawled in my mouth and died there."

"Now that's a fun mental image," Gabriel rolled his eyes. He stood behind Castiel as the younger brother brushed his teeth slowly. Part way through he had to grab Castiel's hips to keep him standing upright. Cas caught his eyes in the mirror and grinned as best he could around a toothbrush.

"Bad Cas, no biscuit," Gabriel muttered, though he didn't let go. Soon enough, the dead rodent flavour was gone from Castiel's mouth, and he was more than happy to have a shower. The problem, however, was going to be keeping him upright long enough to wash.

"You could always get in with me," Cas suggested.

Gabriel sighed and hung his head, just about reaching the end of his patience. The truth was, Castiel had featured in his fantasies when they were younger, and Gabriel didn't want things to get out of control. After all, Cas was still messed up from the drugs, and Gabriel couldn't be sure that he really wanted to do this.

"Cas, please…"

"Really, would it be so bad to shower with me?" Castiel asked, pouting a little. "You could make sure that I'm clean all over."

"No," Gabriel shook his head, and instead dragged Cas out to sit in a chair by the window. "We'll just wait until you're strong enough to stand by yourself."

"You're no fun," Cas grumbled, though he fell silent as Gabriel turned on the television. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he'd become determined to get Gabriel to sleep with him. Gabriel seemed just as determined that it wouldn't happen. They'd just have to see who was the more stubborn of the pair.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: So apparently confirming it as a threesome brought in the readers. Bunch of perverts… then again, I'm the one writing it, so what does that say about me? We're back to the Winchesters in this one, and Dean's back making questionable decisions.

Warnings: Underage drinking, non-explicit drunken sex (Dean/Crowley), angst, some language… Crowley being a manipulative bastard, but that's hardly news-worthy.

-MWM-

Sam sat at the table doing his homework, Bobby lying across his feet in a bid to get more attention. For being a supposed guard dog, the Rottweiler was mostly just a big sook. Not that Dean really minded – he felt more comfortable leaving Sam with a dog who wasn't aggressive, though he was sure that should it come down to it, Bobby would be fierce in his protection.

Glancing over at them, Dean finished getting dressed with a grin. Tonight was parent-teacher interviews at Sam's school, which meant Dean had to try and act like a proper guardian. Crowley had offered to come along too, but Dean had been determined to do this by himself. After all, Crowley was just paying the bills, Dean was the one taking care of Sam.

"I'll be back in an hour or two Sammy," Dean commented as he grabbed the car keys. "Take care of him, Bobby."

"We'll be fine," Sam rolled his eyes. "We always are. You're just overprotective."

"Damn straight," Dean nodded. He was well aware that he was highly protective when it came to his little brother, he just didn't care what anyone else thought. No one was going to get to Sammy on his watch.

Speaking to the teachers from the parent's perspective was a whole new experience for Dean. After all the times John had been called in to deal with his fighting and other problems, Dean was sure that he was going to squirm like a little girl. Instead, the teachers were friendly and spoke nothing but praise for Sam – apparently he was a hard worker, intent on doing the best he could in all areas of his work. Dean left the meeting with a content feeling in his stomach, knowing that Sam at least was going to have a future.

Sitting in the car outside of the motel, he started to consider things again. Sure, Sam was going to do well and go to college and everything. What was he doing though? Was he going to be a bouncer for the rest of his life? Would he slip between the sheets instead? Once his debt to Crowley was paid, what was he going to do with himself?

Sighing, Dean climbed out and locked up, happy for Sam while unsure of himself. What was he going to do when looking after Sam was no longer the focus of his life?

-MWM-

When Dean's birthday came along again, the girls decided to throw him a party – after all, he was turning eighteen, they needed to celebrate. He tried to convince them that he didn't want a big party, he didn't like being the centre of attention, that he'd rather just go out for dinner with Sam, but they were insistent. So he found himself, the Saturday after his birthday, sitting on the couch at Danni's and trying to relax.

It soon became apparent that they weren't going to spend the night fussing over him like he'd feared they would, and instead they were just using his birthday as an excuse to have a party. He liked this approach, and it was easier to let himself unwind once he realised it. He'd spent the night of his actual birthday celebrating with Sam, as had become tradition, so tonight the younger boy was staying with some of his friends.

Dean hadn't drunk much before, not wanting to risk getting caught and having Sam taken away, but here he felt safe enough to give it a try. Danni even encouraged him, putting a beer in his hand and telling him to drink up. He did, finding that he liked the taste, and was soon on his second bottle.

Much to his surprise, Crowley turned up fairly late into the celebrations. The boss was getting several hugs and a few kisses from the girls, and even a few of the males who were in attendance. That got Dean's attention – he'd never seen Crowley really interacting with his workers, but apparently they were all physically affectionate towards him. It was a bit much for his alcohol-ridden brain to deal with, so he retreated into the kitchen for more beer.

Just as he was wondering whether to bring one out to Crowley, the man in question entered the room. He walked over and stood behind Dean, who turned a little unsteadily and grinned at him.

"You came to my party!" He exclaimed, holding out a bottle of beer. "Want?"

Crowley raised an eyebrow, taking in Dean's current state, then smiled his shark-like smile. He took the bottle away and placed it on the counter, leaning in as he did so.

"Yeah, I want," he whispered into Dean's ear as he trailed a hand up Dean's arm. "Now you're finally legal age."

Dean froze for a moment. Sure he'd had plenty to drink, but he was still aware of what was going on. Crowley was trying to seduce him. Part of his brain was screaming _Knee him in the bollocks and run! He's your boss for fuck's sake!_

A larger part, however, was telling him to just go with it. After all, the man had treated him well so far – and it wasn't as though he had a boyfriend to do anything with. After the fiasco with Gordon, he'd stopped trying to socialise with anyone outside of Crowley's brothels, and he really wanted to get laid sometime this century.

The decision helped along by the alcohol, Dean wrapped his arms around Crowley's neck and pressed against him, noticing that they were now the same height. He used Crowley's momentary surprise at his willingness to press his lips to the older man's, humming in contentment when he was kissed back.

They stood like that for several minutes, Crowley's hands exploring Dean's body while Dean mostly stayed focussed on the kiss. It therefor took him by surprise when Crowley grabbed his ass and squeezed, pulling him closer to grind against him.

"C'mon," Crowley broke away and smirked at the whine coming from Dean. "I'm not deflowering you in a kitchen. Bedroom, now." With that, he hooked a finger through one of the belt-loops on Dean's jeans and pulled him along towards somewhere he deemed a little more suitable.

Crowley seemed to know his way around the house pretty well, given that he led Dean straight to the guest room without going back through the party in the living room. Dean didn't have the spare brain cells to think about that, though, when his mind was having an argument with itself again. A small part of him had always held back from going far with anyone because he'd always had the idea that Castiel would be his first. Though he'd never admitted it to anyone else, he was fairly certain that he'd been in love with his childhood friend, and sleeping with anyone else felt like a betrayal.

His hormones, however, were having none of that – his body craved attention, and if Crowley was willing to give it to him, his body was all for it. If he'd been sober he probably would have resisted, but half-way drunk? He just wanted more.

As soon as Crowley closed the door behind them, he shoved Dean against it and started kissing him again. This wasn't the lazy, seductive kiss from earlier though – this was hard and fast, leaving Dean breathless for more. He firmly told his rational brain to shut up then, and willingly surrendered to his hormones. Crowley seemed to sense the change, and growled even as he shoved Dean's t-shirt over his head and started attacking the boy's chest with his mouth.

Dean arched into the touch, quickly undoing his own belt and pants. Crowley helped shove them down, then stepped back as Dean pulled off his shoes and the rest of his clothing. When he looked up, Crowley was sitting on the edge of the bed, shoes and socks off but otherwise dressed in his usual white shirt and black dress pants. His jacket and tie were missing, giving him a casual look that suited him just as well as his usual 'respectable businessman' getup.

"Dean," he called softly, "come here. I want you to undress me."

Dean nodded and walked over, dropping to his knees in front of his boss. The buttons on the shirt took longer to open than he liked, but Crowley just smiled indulgently. After all, his coordination was severely hampered by the earlier beers. Once it was finally undone, Dean pushed it off Crowley's shoulders and leaned in for another kiss. Crowley was apparently only too happy to oblige, removing the shirt the rest of the way himself before running a hand up and down Dean's spine. He then pulled away and removed his undershirt, as Dean started caressing the bulge in his pants.

"That's it Dean," Crowley nodded his encouragement. "You want this too, don't you?"

Dean nodded and went to work on the belt and fly in front of him. He didn't trust himself to speak, he'd probably only say something either highly embarrassing or highly offensive, so best to just keep his mouth shut.

Well, maybe not shut, he thought as he freed Crowley's erection and leaned in to lick at it. At Crowley's approving noises above him, he stroked the cock in front of him and gently took the head in his mouth, helping to get the show rolling.

"Fuck, you're good at this. Had some practice at this, haven't you?" Crowley's eyes glinted dangerously, and Dean knew he had to speak up then.

"Just with a friend, when I was younger. Never got further than sucking each other off."

"Good," Crowley nodded and stood then, allowing Dean to pull his pants and underwear all the way off. "Now, up on the bed. You ever try fingering yourself?"

Dean shivered as he raised himself onto the bed and lay back, Crowley busy fishing something out of his pants.

"No sir," he whispered, noticing how Crowley's eyes closed briefly at being called 'sir'. He was pretty sure the man like it, and resolved to say it as much as possible in the future.

"Well then, this'll be uncomfortable at first. But don't worry, you'll enjoy it once you get used to it." He looked back at Dean and considered. "Best get on your hands and knees. It'll make it easier, trust me."

Dean nodded and did as he was told, putting his body in Crowley's hands to do with as he would. Crowley smiled at the sight, and knew he would enjoy this. He'd make sure that they both did, so that Dean would welcome him in the future with just as much enthusiasm.


	9. Chapter 9

Warnings: Language (is that even worth mentioning by now?), sexual references (for a story about prostitution, there hasn't been much actual sex yet)… I think that's it. This one's fairly tame. Just wait until next chapter though – we'll be back with Cas and Gabriel.

-MWM-

When they were both sated, Crowley and Dean lay on the bed together. They were most assuredly not cuddling, but Crowley did have a possessive hold on Dean's hip. There was silence for several minutes, broken only by the sound of their breathing getting back under control, before Crowley spoke.

"Ground rules now, Dean. This isn't a relationship. This isn't exclusive, I will be screwing other people and you're allowed to as well. You ever want me to stop doing something, you speak up. Otherwise I'll continue to fuck you whenever we're both in the mood. Understood?"

Dean blinked for a moment, taken aback by Crowley's straightforward speech. Then again, Crowley had always been upfront about the conditions he placed on things, even if he did have a way of speaking that made the listener want to go along with whatever he said. He'd also been a good first lover, and while Dean knew he'd be sore later, he hadn't actually been hurt. It had felt amazing, in fact.

So he nodded, making up his mind. Casual sex with Crowley would be okay with him.

"Excellent," Crowley grinned, then leaned in to kiss him again. Dean was happy to welcome him back, even if he wasn't ready for another round just yet. Crowley pulled back soon and swept his eyes up and down Dean's body, appraising him yet again.

"You're a pretty quick learner. Not bad on the eyes either. Flexible too. If you want to change jobs, I'm sure we won't have trouble finding customers for you."

It took a few seconds for the meaning of the words to sink in, and Dean couldn't help but stare at Crowley.

"I… uh, that is…"

"Just think about it," Crowley grinned at the noises Dean was making. "I'd rather you make this decision when you're sober. Now come on, time to get dressed and mingle again."

Dean groaned and tried to bury his head under the pillow. When he felt a sharp smack to his backside, however, his whole body jerked and he looked at Crowley in shock.

"None of that. Get moving." The boss was dressed fairly quickly and left, though not before pressing one last kiss to Dean's lips.

Dean continued to sit on the bed for several minutes, trying to think. In the end he gave up and dressed himself, slipping back to the party. Danni caught his eye not long after and winked at him, causing Dean to flush for a second before winking back. Apparently having sex with Crowley wasn't uncommon for the workers. He was fairly sure he should be feeling used right about now, but since no one else was making a big deal about it, he figured he'd let it be for now too. There would be plenty of time to freak out tomorrow.

-MWM-

A few days later, Dean was sitting in Crowley's office. He remembered everything that had happened at the party, since he hadn't been that drunk, and had been thinking about the offer Crowley had made. He'd thought about it a lot, and had come to a decision.

"You sure?" Crowley raised an eyebrow. "I'm certain you'd be good at it."

"Thanks sir, but no thanks. I just don't feel comfortable sleeping with strangers."

"Fair enough," Crowley nodded. "It's not for everyone." He waited a beat before continuing. "I notice you didn't say you don't feel comfortable getting paid to sleep with someone. It's the being strangers part that you don't like?"

"Yeah," Dean shrugged. "After working here so long, money for sex doesn't seem like such a big deal any more. But I really don't think I could have sex with a stranger."

"And what about sleeping with me?" Crowley asked, leaning back in his chair a little. Dean paused, making sure he wasn't going to say something to offend his boss.

"That's different, 'cause you're not a stranger. I know it's not a relationship, that there's no feelings beyond being horny, but I know you. I guess… I feel safer getting into bed with you than with someone I don't know."

"Hmm. Okay," Crowley hummed in agreement. "Good to see you're being sensible about this. But if you ever change your mind, all you have to do is say the word."

"Thankyou sir," Dean grinned in relief. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but the thought had crossed his mind that Crowley might make him become a prostitute against his will. After all, he was still so far in debt to the older man that it was going to take years to pay off – and until it was paid, he was well aware that Crowley owned him. Thus far however, he'd been a generous boss, so Dean wasn't going to push his luck.

So when Crowley pushed his chair back from the desk a little and crooked his finger in a 'get over here' motion, Dean went willingly and showed Crowley just what he'd learned about giving a good blowjob.

-MWM-

On Sam's birthday, Dean decided to splurge a little – he had some money saved up – and bought his brother a new laptop of his own. Sam was thrilled, going so far as to hug Dean for several minutes.

"Easy there kiddo," Dean couldn't help grinning. "It's not that great a computer, trust me. I just figured it was about time you had one of your own. After all, pretty sure you don't want me looking through your porn collection."

"I don't have a porn collection!" Sam exclaimed, blushing bright red. Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously? You don't? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing! I'm just not into that stuff."

"What stuff? Sex? How can you not be into sex? You're a teenage boy!"

"I'm fourteen," Sam ground out. "I'm not supposed to be into sex yet."

"C'mon, my first kiss was only a week after I turned fourteen. We Winchesters mature early."

Sam opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. Dean had caught the movement though, and raised an eyebrow.

"Out with it. What were you gonna say?"

"Well… your first kiss. Was it with Cas?"

Dean froze, then slowly nodded. He'd been the one to bring it up, after all, may as well resign himself to talking about it.

"We're gonna have a chick-flick talk, aren't we?" Dean asked in a last-ditch effort to avoid the subject. Sam just gave him a Look, and he sighed. "Yeah, it was Cas. He sorta jumpstarted my maturity."

"What was it like?"

Dean considered carefully before answering. He still remembered, clear as day, everything he'd felt the first time Cas had made a move on him.

"Confusing as all hell. But nice. I mean, I'd never even considered him that way – he was my best friend, and I'd thought that was that. Then he kissed me to make me shut up about how I was worried about you being sick, and I realised how right it felt."

"Did you love him?" Sam looked a little uncomfortable, though whether it was from talking about Dean's love life or remembering Castiel was hard to tell.

"Yeah, I think I did. Still do, actually," Dean admitted.

"So why didn't we go to him when Dad died?"

"Because he wasn't talking to me," Dean looked at the floor, the pain coming back full force. "After him and his brothers left for New York, Cas didn't call me once, and he didn't answer when I rang him. Neither did Gabriel. I guess Lucian's disapproval got too much for him."

"I thought Lucian liked you?" Sam was clearly confused. Dean sighed, remembering having this conversation right before Castiel left.

"Yeah, but he had issues with Cas. I don't know all the details, but they didn't get along well, and he didn't like that me and Cas were seeing each other as more than friends."

"Oh." There was a pause for a moment while Sam considered. "Lucian was a dick."

Dean couldn't stop the laughter that erupted at that. Though he and Sammy were different in so many ways, there were some things that they agreed on perfectly. One of them being the douchiness of Lucian Novak.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Cas is back making some truly awful decisions, and Gabriel's caught up in them now. What's a big brother to do? We also find out how Cas got started in his stoner ways. Please note, I've never been on any drugs stronger than painkillers, so Cas' experience probably doesn't match any common street drug. We'll just say that it's an uncommon one. It was kinda disturbing to write, too.

Warnings: Underage drinking, drug use, sleepy frottage (Non-con? Dub-con? Enjoyed but not aware enough to consent or object), semi-prostitution (Cas/OC blowjob for drugs), drugged-out experience.

-MWM-

Castiel sighed and stretched out on the couch. He was bored out of his skull, confined to Gabriel's apartment with nothing more to do than read or watch TV. Maybe he used to be able to get by with just books, but now he was used to having people around constantly, and not having to think for long periods of time.

He'd been in Los Angeles for nearly a month now, and thanks to Gabriel's constant hovering he'd kept clean. He was itching for a hit of something – anything – but it was impossible to make the right connections with Gabriel always around. And for some reason, Castiel didn't want to disappoint his big brother. It was strange, he hadn't felt like this in over a year, but he wanted to please Gabriel. He'd given up trying to please Lucian years ago, knowing that it was a lost cause, but Gabriel…

Growling, Cas punched the cushion under his head and tried to get comfortable again. It wasn't just the lack of drugs that was getting to him, it was the lack of physical affection. Gabriel would allow hugs, and sitting close together on the couch. Sometimes he'd even allow Cas to kiss his cheek. Anything more than that, however, and Cas would find himself pushed away with no physical contact for at least a couple of hours. It was quite a shock, going from freely sharing his body with anyone in the group he'd hung around with to having only limited contact with his brother, and Castiel knew that he didn't like it. He didn't think he'd ever masturbated as much as he had since arriving here

The worst part, he thought, was that Gabriel seemed oblivious to his suffering. He seemed to think that since Cas was now off the drugs and had gone through the worst of the withdrawal, he'd be fine and back to how he used to be. Cas couldn't believe that Gabriel was that naïve, surely he knew that Castiel had changed from what he used to know. Hell, Gabriel knew that Cas had slept around – one of the first things he'd done upon getting back to Los Angeles was to drag Castiel to the nearest clinic to get him tested for every STD known to man. He was actually clean – condoms weren't that hard to get hold of – which had surprised Gabriel. Cas had commented that all of the alcohol in his system must've killed off any virus. Gabriel hadn't been impressed by that.

He had something to look forward to tonight though – Gabriel seemed to think it was safe to take him out of the apartment for a bit, and they were going to a party that his ex-girlfriend Kali was throwing. Gabriel had told him that Kali only invited them to make her current boyfriend jealous, but that he was fine with this. Apparently her boyfriend was too spineless to really do it for her and needed some encouragement to man up. At least, that was the impression Castiel got from Gabriel's stories about them.

Cas heard Gabriel coming through the front door and made his decision. One way or another he was getting laid tonight – since apparently Gabriel wasn't going to do it for him, he'd find someone at the party. And with any luck, he'd find something else to try at the party too. After all, he had nothing else to keep himself occupied while Gabriel was off at classes or at work, so why not make a few contacts?

"Hey Cas," Gabriel greeted him, unaware of Castiel's rapidly darkening thoughts. "Just let me take a shower and we'll be off."

"Fine," Castiel muttered, glaring at the ceiling and listening as Gabriel wandered off to the bathroom.

It was a fairly small apartment, hence why Gabriel was able to afford it on student loans and a casual job. There was one bedroom and a tiny bathroom, with the living area and kitchen flowing together. Currently Castiel slept on the couch, or in Gabriel's bed during the day. It wasn't ideal, but there wasn't much they could do with their limited income. Castiel had suggested a few ways to increase their cash flow, all of which had been shot down by Gabriel for being either immoral, illegal or both.

-MWM-

Kali's house wasn't far, so they walked there, enjoying the unseasonably warm evening. Once at the party, which was already in full swing, Gabriel detached himself from Cas and went to find the hostess. He felt fairly safe in leaving Cas to socialise by himself, after all Kali's parties never got too out of hand. Surely his little brother wouldn't get into trouble here.

Cas glared at the back of Gabriel's head briefly, then made his way to the edge of the room. He didn't like being around crowds of people he didn't know, it made him highly uncomfortable. Eventually he managed to snag a beer and put his back to the wall, watching for anyone who looked like they might be interesting.

After a few minutes, his eyes zeroed in on a girl wearing not much. Her movements were just a little out of coordination, she was a little too thin, and she was drinking like she had a limitless tolerance. He nodded to himself, recognising the symptoms from his own experience. He could be mistaken, of course – but he doubted it.

Draining the rest of his beer, Cas felt relief wash through him. Things were finally looking up – he had alcohol, he'd probably get something else to further alter his state of mind, and with a little luck he'd get sex. He ditched the now empty bottle and moved over to the girl, who'd caught his eye and was now smiling at him.

"So," he lowered his voice a few notches, knowing the effect it had on people. "You a friend of MJ?"

"Naturally," she blinked slowly at him, and he gently wound his arms around her waist.

"You gonna share?" He whispered directly into her ear, feeling her shiver against him.

"This way," she grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the others, out into the back garden. Once they had a little privacy, she pulled a small bag from the waistband of her skirt and took out a small pink pill. "Trust me babe, these are better than anything else." With that she put it on her tongue and gave Cas a 'come-hither' look.

Cas smirked at her before leaning down and sealing his mouth over hers. It didn't take much effort to steal the pill and swallow it himself, and he allowed his hands to roam over the skin in front of him.

Fairly quickly he felt his brain begin to fizz, and groaned in happiness as he recognised the effects. He'd be pleasantly out of his mind for a few hours at least, depending on how pure it was.

"Where can I get more?" He quickly asked, knowing that soon he'd be beyond understanding words.

"A guy in the park down the street. Wears a sleeveless coat and wide-brimmed hat. He'll get you whatever you want, and he'll take plenty of things as payment." With that she kissed him again, and Cas gladly went along with it. He decided then that he liked Kali, even if he'd never met her – she'd provided food for all of his vices in the one place.

-MWM-

The next morning, Castiel woke back on the couch at home with no idea how he'd gotten there. Well, there was some clue – Gabriel was the only other one with a key, and since Cas wouldn't have been able to find his way home under the effects of last night's drug, it had to have been big brother who brought him back. He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position before noticing that he was naked. That was new, since Gabriel had insisted that pants were mandatory fairly early on in his stay.

He took a moment to take stock of his condition. Hangover present, so he'd obviously had more to drink than he remembered. A few bite and scratch marks, though nothing too deep, so probably sex and not a fight. He didn't feel stretched or sore, so it was a female, or he topped a guy. That was about the extent of what he could work out though, until he noticed some writing on his forearm. It was a phone number with the name Katie next to it. So that was probably who he'd had sex with.

Looking at the other arm, there was a brief description of someone, and he smiled. She'd written down the dealer he needed to look for, and even added a comment – 'he likes cute boys!'

At that moment, the door to Gabriel's room opened, and a girl he didn't recognise came out. She was doing up the buttons on her top as she walked, otherwise fully clothed, but paused when she saw Castiel watching her.

"Oh, uh, hi. You're Gabriel's brother, right?" Cas nodded, eyes narrowing. So it was okay for Gabriel to sleep around, but not him? That didn't sit right. "Um, I'll just… I'll just leave."

"Don't let me stop you," Castiel ground out. The girl nodded and left, blushing furiously. Cas watched her all the way out the front door, then stood up. Time to go have a chat with Gabriel. When he reached the bedroom, however, he found he couldn't stay mad. Gabriel just looked too sweet and innocent when he slept. It was a cover, of course, since Cas was pretty sure that Gabriel had never been innocent in his life, and was only sweet when he wanted something, but it was still difficult to hold a grudge.

Instead, he crept over and climbed into the bed as well. He settled down close to Gabriel, and smiled when the older man instinctively cuddled into his warmth. This was more like it. He could feel Gabriel's morning erection pressing into his thigh and moved subtly, feeling himself getting aroused as well. Running his hands along the skin now available to him, Cas shifted and pressed his mouth to Gabriel's.

His nose wrinkled a little at the taste – stale breath and last night's beer didn't make a great combination, but it was the most he'd gotten from Gabriel in weeks. It wasn't long before Gabriel was kissing back, clearly dreaming of something good as his hips moved to rut against Castiel. The younger brother couldn't hold back a groan of arousal as he felt Gabriel start to wake up and respond to him.

He knew the minute Gabriel woke up properly, since he froze completely, the hand on Castiel's ass suddenly turning to stone.'

"Cas?" Gabriel sounded unsure if this was reality or an extension of his dream.

Castiel opened his eyes – when had they fallen closed? He wasn't sure – and was met with Gabriel's amber stare. He whimpered in frustration and threw a leg over Gabriel's, bringing them closer.

"Gabriel, please!"

That was too much though, and Gabriel seemed to fly out of the bed.

"Castiel, stop this!" Gabriel shouted, looking as angry as possible whilst still sporting a hard-on. "I said no, stop pursuing this!" With that he stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door, audibly locking the door.

Cas fell back onto the sheets and just lay there, fighting to keep back tears. He'd done it again, screwed up his relationship with a big brother because he couldn't control his impulses. Now Gabriel was sure to leave him, throw him out onto the streets or even send him back to Lucian. He couldn't deal with this.

He crawled out of bed and slunk back to the living room, dressing quickly. He'd lost his own arousal at Gabriel's final rejection, and now just wanted to curl up and cry. Then he saw the writing on his arm again, and froze in his actions.

If Gabriel was going to throw him out anyway, what would be the harm? He could hardly make things worse now. So instead of waiting for Gabriel to come and throw him out, Cas gathered his things and slipped out of the house, heading for the park near Kali's house. He really didn't want to be in his right mind at the moment.

-MWM-

It took nearly half an hour to find the park, but once he did he immediately felt better. Nature always had calmed him down, and not just smoking it – it was why he'd gone to Hangman's Tree back home to begin with, before he'd discovered the joys of being stoned out of his skull. He'd sit up in the tree for hours, not even noticed by the group below him, until one day he'd managed to get fairly stoned from the second-hand smoke filtering up into the branches, and had fallen out.

Thankfully he'd been relaxed enough that he only suffered a few bruises, not any real damage, and the others had laughed about it before teaching him how to smoke his own joint – which had been the start of his loving relationship with MJ, the leafy plant that made everything so much easier to deal with. It had been a few weeks later, after having smoked quite a lot, that one of the guys supplying him had demanded payment.

He hadn't had any money to give, and was so out of his mind that when alternative payment was mentioned, he immediately grabbed they guy's belt and went to work, sucking him off in front of the whole group. That had started what became a tradition – he'd let them do anything to him as long as they gave him some sort of mind-altering substance, going so far as agreeing to be the guinea-pig for new drugs once he'd been around a few months. It had all gone downhill rather quickly, and he'd been passed around the group about as often as the joints were.

Every now and then his rational mind would surface long enough to object to something, but it was usually drowned out fairly quickly with alcohol, which made him incredibly affectionate and ready for anything.

Looking around this park, he didn't immediately spot the dealer he was looking for. So he walked around for a while, noticing that there weren't that many people here. Eventually he found a fairly secluded corner, mostly screened off from view by some large bushes. Standing behind them, leaning against a tree trunk, was a man who matched the description Katie had given him, and Cas sighed in relief.

He walked up to the man, smiling slightly. The man caught his eye, a slow smirk spreading across his face.

"Katie sent you?" He asked without preamble, and Castiel nodded. "Excellent. She really is a good little hunter, wouldn't you agree?"

"I've been looking for a hit for weeks," Cas admitted, already breathless with anticipation. "Please, I need…"

"I know," the man said soothingly, reaching out a hand to stroke Castiel's face. "I know, sweet one. Now, how do you want to pay for your hit? Cash, or mouth?"

Castiel was on his knees almost before he could finish the sentence. He made quick work of the belt in front of him, ignoring the chuckle above him. Undoing the button and zipper, he opened the pants enough to reach the currently soft cock, made easier by a lack of underwear. Leaning forward, he gently breathed over the head, not touching him any more than was necessary to keep the man in place. As the man's dick started to harden, Castiel ran his tongue along the underside, coaxing it along, before finally latching onto the tip with his mouth.

Slowly but steadily, he inched forwards, relaxing his throat with practiced ease until he'd swallowed the whole thing. He could hear the man grunting and trying to retain control and smirked inwardly – his mouth being otherwise occupied – before starting to hum.

At that, the man grabbed hold of his hair and started thrusting his hips, fucking Castiel's face. It didn't take long before he pulled back enough to shoot his load in Cas' mouth, letting out a long, low growl as he came.

As Castiel was cleaning him up, the man stroked Cas' hair gently, smoothing it back into place. Finally Castiel tucked him back into his pants and re-fastened his pants and belt. The man smiled down at him, leaning against the tree again.

"Damn that was good, kid. You certainly deserved this." With that, he pulled a pill out of his pocket and held it up. Cas' eyes lit up, and he opened his mouth. The man smirked and placed the pill on the waiting tongue, then handed him a small bag with four more. "When you need another hit, come find me."

"You bastard!"

Castiel didn't really notice as the man was hauled away from him and a fight seemed to break out. He just lay down underneath the bush and stared at the dirt in front of him. His brain was fizzing along, making connections and associations he'd never considered before.

Hands were tugging at him, pulling him upright. He went along with it – why not? – and reached back for the other person. He had no idea who they were, he probably did normally, but now he didn't even know his own name, and they were just warm flesh and he wanted. He managed to wrap himself around the other person, nuzzling into their neck. He tried to kiss them, but there were words then he couldn't decipher, not that it really mattered much, and a hand pushing him down, keeping him away from their mouth.

They were walking then, the two of them, and everything was pretty. So green. And brown. There were smaller people running around, bright blurs of colour and sound, and he could feel himself laughing. He stumbled a bit, but hands were keeping him upright, keeping him safe, and again he tried to get closer but was again denied. He was getting sick of that.

They were walking, walking, sometimes it was green underneath and sometimes it was grey, there was black a few times and he wanted to investigate it further but the hands wouldn't let him go down. Then they were inside, no more sunlight, and he whimpered a little even as the arms were back and holding him tight. They were in a small space, a box, and the box was moving, and he didn't like it, he started struggling to get away but the arms just held him tight. There was a noise in his ear, and it's soothing, familiar, like he used to know what the noise meant, and soon they're out of the box but they're still not outside, and he just wants to feel the sun again.

He's pulled along somewhere, and there are more noises, and he's stumbling as he bumps into things, but the hands never let him fall. They're comforting and rubbing against his back, and he wants them lower, wants more, and there's something in his mouth now. He tries to suck on it, but it's smaller than it should be, and harder, and it tastes funny – there's strange stuff in his mouth, he doesn't want it there anymore, he tries to fight it off but the soothing noise is back. He can feel heat behind him, holding him, even as the thing moves back and forth in his mouth. Then it's removed and he leans forward and spits the horrible stuff out of his mouth, he's tilted back and there's something else being poured in, he's drowning, but then he's tilted forwards and can spit it all out.

He's crying now, can feel his cheeks getting wet, and he's scared, and doesn't know what he wants. The warmth is holding him, turns him so he can bury his head in it, sobbing and struggling to breathe. Then there's something else pressed against his mouth, it's another mouth, he's being kissed and he kisses back, he knows this, he knows what to do now.

The warmth pulls away, and he whimpers as he tries to follow. It reaches back to him, wraps around him from the side and pulls him again, they're walking somewhere else, and he's scared again, doesn't like all this moving, he just wants to lie down and be held, wants the warmth to never leave him.

He's pushed down to sit on something soft, and he can feel as the warmth is still close, but it's tugging at his feet until something comes off, he can feel that he's not encased any more, and tries to help, doesn't want to be restricted, wants to feel the warmth more directly. The soothing noise hasn't let up, and he's fairly sure that he recognises it from somewhere, but it's too much, he doesn't want to think, and he just wants to be safe.

They're laying down now, and he can feel the warmth curled around him as something else is pulled over them, there's skin against his skin, and he wants, he wants, but the warmth is just holding him, keeping him still. He tries to speak, tries to tell it what he wants, but he can't, can't understand what's coming out, and it frightens him again. The mouth is back, and it calms him a little, he tries to rub against the warmth but is stopped, the mouth pulls back and the soothing noise starts again, then it stops and the mouth is back, and he knows that he can't have the noise and the mouth at the same time but he wants them both.

Darkness is coming, and he doesn't want to surrender, doesn't want to leave the warmth, it's safe here, and someone cares about him, and he's not alone any more, but slowly he loses control and slips away into the darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Gabriel's perspective on what happened when Castiel was drugged up. Big brother's not pleased. Cue discussion of the situation, and Gabriel's solution to Castiel's addictions.

Warnings: Language (Gabby's pissed), semi-prostitution, reluctantly consensual brotherly love.

-MWM-

Gabriel sighed as he stepped out of the shower, having calmed down somewhat. He knew that he needed to have a serious talk with Castiel, and he'd put it off long enough. Too long, actually, given Castiel's attempt this morning. He quickly dried off, then realised that he'd stormed in here without actually grabbing any clothes.

Not looking forwards to being naked around his brother, even for a few minutes, he wrapped his towel firmly around his waist and stuck his head out of the door. There was no sign of Cas in his bedroom, so he quickly slipped out and started to get dressed. He couldn't hear movement in the rest of the apartment, and suddenly Gabriel started to worry. Looking at Castiel's track record of the last two years, he obviously didn't do well when things went wrong.

Pulling the nearest shirt over his head, Gabriel hurried out to the living room, only to find that all of Cas' stuff was gone.

"Shit!" He swore, kicking the couch. This wasn't meant to happen! He never meant to push Cas this far away. He had to find him.

Gabriel sat down and thought for a minute. Cas didn't know anyone in Los Angeles… or did he? He seemed to be getting pretty friendly with that chick at the party last night. Gabriel had seen them dancing together several times, if dancing was the right word for it. More like sex while clothed.

Having his first clue, Gabriel quickly pulled on his shoes, grabbed his keys and headed for Kali's. She might be a handsy bitch, but Kali was also fiercely protective of those she considered hers, and she'd never quite gotten over Gabriel.

Once there, he described the girl Cas had been with the previous night. Kali looked confused for a moment, then murderous.

"Katie! I'll kill her myself, I told her not to come here anymore."

"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"She's a pusher," Kali informed him, already flicking through her phone for Katie's number. "Goes around to parties, gives away samples of drugs, then sends people on to one of her dealers."

"Shit!" Gabriel swore again. "He's not even been clean a month! I thought he'd be okay here."

"I told her she's not welcome at my parties," Kali fumed. "I fucking told her to stay away!"

It took a few minutes, and several creative threats from Kali, mostly involving fire and certain body parts, before Katie told her where she'd sent Cas. Kali relayed the information to Gabriel, then continued to tear into her former friend. Gabriel didn't stick around to listen, instead heading out of the door. This was all his fault, he should have been keeping a closer watch on his little brother… he should have known not to trust anyone else with his safety or wellbeing.

He got to the park and didn't immediately see anything. There was a large clump of bushes near the back, though, which meant there was a fairly secluded area which would be perfect for a little inconspicuous dealing. Gabriel approached it, and arrived just in time to see a man with his cock down Castiel's throat.

Gabriel froze, unable to believe what he was seeing. Cas was apparently enjoying himself as the stranger thrust down his throat a few times, before coming in his mouth. Gabriel couldn't move as he watched Cas clean the man up and tuck him away, all the while being patted like a well-behaved dog. His stomach clenched – then he saw the man place something smaller in Cas' mouth, and heard the comment.

"Damn that was good, kid. You certainly deserved this. When you need another hit, come find me."

"You bastard!" Gabriel shouted and launched himself at the man. There was a brief scuffle, before the stranger managed to get away and took off at a run. Gabriel wanted to chase after him and beat him to a pulp, but Castiel was lying curled up on the ground, smiling as he ran his fingers through the dirt. He had the sudden urge to stick a finger in Cas' mouth and make him vomit up the drug, but given he'd just been deep-throating some random drug dealer, Gabriel didn't think a finger would really bother him.

He crouched down and gently tugged at Castiel until they were both standing again. Cas didn't offer any resistance, in fact he seemed happy to go along with it. When they were standing properly, Gabriel suddenly found that Castiel was clinging to him, nuzzling into his neck before attempting to kiss him.

"Cas, no, stop it. You've just had a stranger come in your mouth, I'm not kissing you." Gabriel managed to push him down, heart breaking a little as Cas didn't seem to register what was being said. "C'mon, let's get you home."

He kept a hold on Cas as they walked, having to take most of the younger boy's weight. Cas was laughing at something then, stumbling over his own feet, and Gabriel again had to stop Cas from kissing him. He wasn't sure what it was that Cas had taken, but whatever it was seemed to have taken away all his inhibitions at once.

It was slow going, getting him back home, especially when Cas wanted to get on his hands and knees in the middle of the road. Gabriel ended up practically dragging him the last block, and heaved a sigh of relief when they were inside the apartment building. Then he noticed that Cas was getting distressed, whimpering and shaking his head. His pupils were blown wide, and Gabriel wasn't sure if he was even seeing anything. So he did the only thing he could think of, and wrapped Castiel in his arms, holding him tight when they finally got into the elevator.

"Shhh, Cas, it's okay," he started whispering into Castiel's ear. "I'm here, everything's gonna be fine. I'll take care of you, like I always do. I'm not leaving you, not now and not ever. You don't need drugs to stop being lonely, I'll always be here. I promise."

He kept up the litany of soothing nonsense as they rode up to the correct floor, then managed to get Cas into the apartment. Castiel had closed his eyes by then, and Gabriel faced a constant struggle to keep him from falling over anything. He dumped Cas' bag near the couch without actually letting go of Castiel, then pulled him into the bathroom, all the while rubbing Castiel's back as gently as possible.

Gabriel quickly squirted some toothpaste onto a toothbrush and stood behind him to help clean Cas' mouth. He finally accepted how things were going to end up – he'd do whatever it took to stop Cas from doing this to himself again, even if it meant bedding his little brother – but refused to taste someone else in Cas. His heart dropped a little as Cas obviously started sucking on the toothbrush, clearly thinking it was something else. Then it seemed to click that he wasn't sucking someone's cock, and he started to fight against Gabriel.

"Hey, it's okay, it's just a toothbrush," Gabriel whispered. "It's okay, you know this, you know what's happening, some part of you does I know it." He wrapped his free arm around Castiel's torso to hold him still as he finished brushing Cas' teeth for him. Finally deeming the task finished, Gabriel pushed Cas forwards gently. He seemed to get the message and spat out the toothpaste from his mouth. Gabriel decided to try some more and fills his hand with water, tilting Cas back as he poured it in his mouth. Unfortunately Castiel didn't seem to recognise the action and started to choke. Gabriel quickly tilted him forwards again, and Cas spat everything out. Gabriel felt guilt wash over him as he saw that Cas was crying and shaking, obviously scared.

Gabriel turned his brother around and held him close. Castiel tried to burrow into him, getting as close as physically possible, sobbing in earnest now. Gabriel was starting to get scared, realising that he might have made things worse. He just didn't know what to do to make things better. He decided to go with something Cas had obviously wanted for a while, and pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth.

Castiel kissed back quickly, apparently recognising this. Gabriel couldn't stop the groan of arousal from escaping – now that he was actively participating, he could admit that Cas was good at this. He could feel himself start to get hard, holding a warm body close and being kissed so well. He shifted, trying to will himself down, only to find that Cas was already stiff and apparently willing something different.

He pulled back a bit, biting his own lip as Castiel whimpered at the loss. Gabriel quickly moved back again, wrapping an arm around him and pulling Cas towards the bedroom. Castiel whimpered again and shook his head, but Gabriel figured it would be best to sleep off the effects of the drug.

"Come on, I've got you," he started whispering again. "We're going to have a nice nap, curled up together. You want that, don't you? Want to just stay safe and quiet with me for a while." Once in the bedroom, he pushed Cas down gently to sit on the edge of the bed and started to undress him, still talking as it seemed to be doing the job of soothing the drug-addled teen. "Getting your shoes off now. Socks too – do you even own a matching pair?"

After that, Cas seemed to get the idea and tried to help, though his hands were struggling with the idea of coordination, and the fact that his eyes were still closed. Gabriel eventually managed to undress them both. Something was giving him the feeling that skin on skin would be a comfort to Castiel, so he went along with it. He pushed Cas down again, moving him so the they were lying curled up together, and pulled the blankets over them.

Castiel made a noise then, seemed to be trying to speak, but he couldn't form the words. It obviously distressed him even more, so Gabriel leaned in and kissed him again. It seemed to help, as did the hand he kept stroking up and down Castiel's back. He noticed that Cas was trying to rut against him, and stilled his hips forcefully. He pulled back and tried to talk to him again.

"Cas, listen, we'll talk about doing that when you're mind's clear again, but I can't… I can't do this with you like this. Just wait until you wake up, I promise we'll talk then. It's going to be okay. I'm gonna take care of you."

He kept up the stream of words, sometimes speaking absolute nonsense, until Castiel finally stilled and fell into a deep sleep.

-MWM-

Cas groaned as he woke, burrowing closer to the warm body next to him. He remembered taking his favourite pill, and then there had been shouting, and now he was naked in bed with someone. Someone definitely male, given the erection nestled between Cas' legs. He sleepily began moving his hips, running a hand down his partner's back towards his ass, before a voice stopped him.

"Cas, we really need to talk about this."

His eyes flew open as he recognised Gabriel's voice. He still didn't remember anything of what had happened whilst drugged out, but given that this time Gabriel wasn't shoving him away, he let himself feel hopeful. The erection he could still feel was also rather promising.

"Talk about what?" Cas finally remembered how to work his mouth.

"This," Gabriel repeated, grabbing Castiel's hand from where it was resting on his ass. "You going out and screwing people for drugs."

"Why would you care?" Cas glared, rapidly switching to the offensive. "Not like I'm getting anything from you."

"Cas…"

"No, Gabriel, listen to me," Castiel spoke over his brother. "Do you even know what at addict is? Cutting me off from everything and sticking me in a room by myself all day with nothing to occupy my mind isn't going to stop my cravings. It just makes it worse."

"I get it," Gabriel sighed, but Castiel shook his head.

"No, I don't think you do. It's not just drugs that I'm addicted to. It's also alcohol, and sex. And you just cut me off from everything, without thinking how it was going to affect me, and I can't deal with it! I know I'm screwed up, but this is the only way I know how to get by."

Gabriel surprised him then by reaching out and pulling him closer, so that Castiel's head was against Gabriel's chest. They stayed like that, Gabriel rubbing his brothers back for several minutes.

"We obviously need new house rules," Gabriel whispered into Cas' hair. "So. You can have alcohol here or at parties we go to, but I'll be monitoring how much you have. Have too much and I'll cut you off completely. Okay?"

Cas considered it, then nodded.

"I guess that's fair."

"Good. As for the drugs… I don't like them. Cas, you've spent most of today completely out of it, and I was terrified. You had no idea what was going on around you, you didn't know who I was but you tried to have sex with me anyway. I never want to see you like that again." He took a deep breath, continuing to hold Castiel close. "If I sleep with you willingly, will you promise not to take any more?"

"What?" Cas whispered, raising his head to look Gabriel in the eyes. Gabriel nodded, looking pained.

"Your choice. I'll give in, accept you in my bed whenever you want. But you so much as taste any illegal substance and I'll never touch you again. Is that clear?"

Castiel blinked, tilting his head to one side. He wanted Gabriel, yes, but… he could still feel the craving for all the pills and powders he'd sampled over the past year. Could he stick with it, if he gave up drugs for Gabriel?

"Will you…" Cas stopped, closing his eyes as he tried to put his thoughts in order. "I'll need help. I… I still want them. I don't know how to function without getting stoned every day…"

"I'll help," Gabriel nodded. "We'll find you a class or a job, something to keep you occupied. I promise, if you're going to try to stay clean, I won't abandon you."

Castiel nodded then, and lowered his head to properly kiss Gabriel. They kept it slow but deep for a while, before Castiel pulled back again.

"You mean it?" He whispered. "Do you really want this? You kept pushing me away, I don't want to do this if you don't really want me."

Gabriel grabbed Castiel's hand and moved it down to his groin, where his erection hadn't faded.

"Cas, you've been cropping up in my fantasies for a few years now. I just… I refused to have you in my bed if you weren't in your right mind."

"Okay then," Castiel smirked, and dove at Gabriel. He finally had permission to touch, and wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

"Woah," Gabriel was surprised to find himself suddenly on his back, Castiel licking and biting at his throat. "Easy there, I'm not gonna disappear!"

"You might," Castiel whispered, barely loud enough to hear, and it made Gabriel's heart clench. His little brother really did have issues…

Cas continued his exploration, throwing the covers away and finally looking his fill. He was kneeling with Gabriel's legs between his, and noticed that Gabriel's cock was bigger than his own. He was looking forwards to finally having it inside him. First, though, a taste.

Gabriel let out a long, low groan as Castiel started trailing kisses down his chest. He'd always had a sensitive torso, and couldn't help the noises that Cas was drawing out of him. Not that he really wanted to stop them – if it helped to reassure Cas that he wanted this, that he wanted _Cas_, then he'd scream his lungs out.

Eventually Castiel move down and started lapping at his cock, holding the base and treating it like an ice cream cone. Gabriel had to close his eyes at that, knowing that he couldn't last long. He determinedly didn't think about how many people Cas had sucked off to get this good. Although one image did flash into his mind – it was what had first made him aware of his brother in a sexual sense.

It had been way back when Castiel was fifteen. Dean had been at their house, and Gabriel had gone to find them both to ease his boredom, when he'd heard a groan from Castiel's room.

Thinking that something was wrong, he'd peeked in through the barely-open door, and had nearly had a heart attack. Castiel had been on his knees in front of Dean, obviously sucking him. Dean had clearly enjoyed it, from the way his head was thrown back and eyes screwed shut. The youngest boy had eventually looked down, even as Cas was staring up cheekily.

"Shit Cas, haven't you ever heard of a gag reflex?"

Cas had hummed in response, and Dean had come, biting down on his lip to try and stay quiet.

The image of Cas on his knees had stayed with him for years, and Gabriel finally knew what it felt to have Castiel's mouth – and now throat, he'd managed to swallow the whole thing down – around his aching cock. He could feel Castiel rubbing himself against his leg, desperately trying to find friction for himself.

"Casssss…" Gabriel hissed, hips jerking up. Cas just blinked up at him, then started to move his head, swallowing and humming at intervals to bring him ever closer. It didn't take long, before Gabriel felt himself rapidly approaching his climax.

"Cas, I'm nearly there, I…"

Cas merely moved back down and swallowed one last time, drawing Gabriel over the edge. As he shouted Cas' name and arched his back, Gabriel felt Cas stiffen as well, swallowing on reflex as he came against Gabriel's leg.

Castiel collapsed in a boneless heap on top of Gabriel, ignoring the fact that he still had a cock in his mouth. In the end, Gabriel had to grab him by the arms and drag him up, arranging them curled up together again. If this was what it was going to be like keeping Cas off of drugs, Gabriel wasn't sure he was going to survive it.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Gabriel's been fairly good so far… his darker side comes out to play here. It was actually pretty tricky to write without him going too far.

Warnings: Possessive!Gabriel, language, angst, references to addiction, brotherly sex. Yep, Castiel's won – turn back now if man on man action isn't your thing. (But if it isn't, how'd you get this far to begin with?)

-MWM-

Having spent a great deal of the day asleep, the brothers didn't take long before they were recovered enough to get up again. Gabriel's stomach was complaining at him for not eating all day, and he glared Castiel into agreeing to eat something.

"Seriously Cas, you might not be hungry but you need to eat more. One meal a day isn't enough – no wonder you're so scrawny. Now get in here and help me cook."

They managed to make pasta that was edible, and sat together wearing just their jeans. Gabriel had claimed the dishes and went to wash them, when Cas noticed something was in his pocket. He fished it out, confused, then froze – it was the bag of pills the dealer had given him. He was immediately torn – part of him said to get rid of them, part said to hide them for later, and part said to take one now. He started shaking, for the first time trying to resist the pull of forgetting reality.

"Gabe," he managed to choke out, knowing he wasn't strong enough for this.

"Cas? What's…" Gabriel hurried back over at the tone of voice, then paused. He wasn't sure what the problem was, but he knew it was freaking Cas out.

"I can't… I can't drop them. Help me…"

Then Gabriel realised, and swallowed hard. Cas was holding something he was addicted to. He physically couldn't put it down, couldn't say no to it. Gabriel put his hand over Cas' and tried to pull the pills away from him, but Cas was holding on too tight.

"Cas, you're gonna have to let go for me," he kept his voice low and soothing, trying not to show how scared he was getting. If Cas was having this much trouble here in their home, with Gabriel to help him, how would he react at a party when someone offered him something? Would he be strong enough to come find Gabriel, or would his addiction overrule his rational brain?

He noticed that tears were gathering in Cas' eyes, and decided to distract him instead of trying reason. Gabriel leaned forwards and gently kissed him, running his free hand up Castiel's arm to rest on the back of his neck. Cas gradually relaxed and started kissing back, moving closer for more contact. With a final tug, Gabriel managed to pull him off the couch and the two sprawled on the floor, pills dropped in the confusion of limbs.

Without giving Cas time to think, Gabriel rolled on top of him and continued to keep his focus, until Castiel was completely relaxed and compliant beneath him. He then pulled back a little and smiled, though it was tinged with regret.

"Thank you, Cas," he whispered. "That's exactly what you need to do when you can't face things by yourself. I promised I'd help, and I will. I just need you to trust me."

"I trust you," Cas closed his eyes, unable to meet Gabriel's gaze. "I don't trust me. Big difference."

Gabriel paused for a moment, watching as Cas tried desperately not to break apart again, then backed off a little more.

"Roll over," he nudged Castiel with his nose. Cas frowned a little in confusion, but turned onto his stomach without opening his eyes. Gabriel leaned forward and started to gently kiss and lick at Castiel's neck, nipping him now and then, remembering that Cas had enjoyed being bitten before.

Indeed, Castiel was soon moaning underneath him, squirming and begging for more contact. Gabriel just kept it up, before sinking his teeth in just at Castiel's hairline at the base of his skull. Cas let out a shout of arousal as Gabriel sucked at him, leaving a tender bruise, then ground his hips down over Cas' arse.

"There," Gabriel whispered once Castiel was marked to his satisfaction. "If I'm not around, that's your reminder. You're mine, and I don't want any drugs in your system. Are we clear?"

"Gabby…" Cas moaned, rubbing his arse back, trying to get more friction. "Please…"

"Are we clear?" Gabriel leaned down and snarled into Castiel's ear, biting down lightly on it after. His possessive side was starting to assert itself, had already decided that Cas was his and no one else's. He was going to take care of Castiel, certainly – but he needed Castiel to submit to him first.

"Yours," Cas whispered, reaching out to cover the hand Gabriel had placed on the floor next to his head.

Gabriel practically purred in contentment, then trailed his free hand down Cas' spine. Now that that was taken care of…

"I want you to go into the bedroom now. Take off the jeans and wait for me on the bed. I'll be there in a minute."

Cas scrambled out from under him and hurried to the bedroom. Gabriel ran a hand over his face, knowing that there was no going back from this. But he couldn't stop now either – Castiel needed him, and deep down, he needed Cas too. He knew that he had a few… rough tendencies in bed, and he'd never found a partner he could fully let go around.

But Castiel had been through worse several times over, and he was still standing. He knew that Castiel could take anything he dished out, and would most likely enjoy it too. And if he didn't, then Gabriel would back off. He promised himself this, that he'd pay attention to what Cas did and didn't like, and make sure not to repeat mistakes.

Having made his decision, he stood, swiping the pills on the way past. He made a detour through the bathroom and emptied the pills into the toilet, flushing it and making sure that they were gone before tossing the bag into the bin. He never wanted to see Castiel strung out on mind-altering substances, he'd been telling the truth when he said that.

When he went through to the bedroom, he had to grip the doorframe tight to keep from coming in his pants like a teenager. Cas was kneeling in the middle of the bed, facing the door, eyes half-lidded with lust. One hand was stroking his cock, the other had reached back and was brushing against the mark Gabriel had just given him.

"Gabby…" Castiel whispered, then held out the hand that had just been on his cock. "Come play with me?"

Gabriel let out a growl and strode forwards, pushing Castiel down on the bed forcefully. Cas blinked up in surprise, not having expected Gabriel to be like this – but Gabriel didn't give him a chance to comment, instead climbing on top of him and kissing him forcefully. Once he was satisfied that Castiel was out of breath, he started going lower, kissing, licking and biting at Castiel's neck and shoulders. Castiel tried to reach out to stroke his hands along Gabriel's sides, only to find both wrists pulled into one of Gabriel's hands.

"No touching. Not yet," Gabriel spoke against the skin of Castiel's chest, eyes looking up and meeting his brother's. "Mine."

"Yours," Castiel nodded, feeling a flutter of fear alongside his arousal. He'd never seen Gabriel like this, and despite being a huge turn-on, it was also a little unsettling. But at least he wasn't gagged, he could speak up if it got too much. Taking comfort in that fact, Castiel decided to lie back and enjoy the proceedings.

Gabriel smirked as he felt Castiel briefly tense underneath him, then relax again. He'd been right, Cas liked a little pain with his pleasure.

He both heard and felt Cas' groan underneath him when he bit down on a hardened nipple. Without warning, he let go of Cas completely and got up from the bed, ignoring the whine of protest. He wasn't gone long, just needed to get some lubrication. He came back from the bathroom with a jar of hand lotion some previous girlfriend had left – possibly Kali, it smelled rather smoky – and placed it on the bed beside Castiel before stripping out of his own jeans.

Climbing back up to kneel between Castiel's spread thighs, he reached up and shoved Cas' hands under the pillow.

"Keep them there."

Castiel nodded, eyes wide and eager. He had a pretty good idea of what the lotion was for, and was glad that Gabriel had finally gotten with the program.

Gabriel smiled tenderly at him then, running a hand down Castiel's now-marked chest, and the younger boy nearly came from the care being shown. Sure he'd been with people who wanted him to have fun too, had slept with plenty of people he'd considered friends, but Gabriel actually loved him. He bit his lip to keep from saying something embarrassing, thankfully it didn't seem like Gabriel had noticed his little moment since he was bending down to leave more bite marks.

Then Gabriel found his hip-bones, nibbling and sucking along them, and Castiel was writhing underneath him, trying to keep his hands above his head instead of jerking Gabriel's head to the side, where he really wanted that mouth. He was so distracted that he barely noticed when a slicked-up finger was rubbing at him, relaxing the muscles before pushing in a little.

"Gabby!" Castiel groaned as he finally felt the finger moving inside him.

"Hmm?"

"Ah, Gabriel, more!" Castiel tried to move his hips, but it was difficult with Gabriel still nipping at them, and then another finger was pressing into him and Cas forgot what it was he was trying to do.

"I do believe I'm the one setting the pace," Gabriel whispered, nuzzling the skin underneath his face as he moved his fingers quickly. He was doing his best to stretch Castiel, though it was difficult to remain focused with the noises Cas was making.

"Fuck Gabby, more, please! I can take it, I promise!"

"Hush," Gabriel bit down sharply. "Let me do this." He continued to move his fingers, searching, until Castiel arched his back and shouted his name. Seeing how close Cas was, Gabriel immediately stilled all movement.

"Gabriel…" Cas whined, unable to move between Gabriel's mouth on his hips and the fingers up his arse. "Please, move, please…"

"Just wait," Gabriel whispered back. "You need to learn patience."

"Fuck patience," Cas muttered, causing Gabriel to chuckle.

"Do you know any other response to things you don't like?"

"Are we really going to have this conversation now?" Castiel looked down, trying to gauge whether or not his big brother was serious.

"Hmmm," Gabriel hummed in consideration, then decided that Cas had backed off from his climax enough to continue, and started moving his fingers again. "Maybe not right at this instant."

"Oh fuck," Castiel let his head drop back as his prostate was found again. "Gabriel I swear, get in me now or I'll finish without you!"

"No you won't," Gabriel commented against his hips before grabbing the base of Castiel's cock in a vice-like grip. "You're not finishing until I say you can. Clear?"

"Gabbyyyyyyy…" Castiel spread his legs further, putting himself at Gabriel's mercy completely.

"Good boy. Now, I think you might be ready. Roll over," he ordered as he withdrew his fingers and started slicking up his own cock.

Castiel did as he was told, managing to keep his hands under the pillow the whole time, even as he raised up onto his knees.

"You really are good at following orders," Gabriel raised an eyebrow. Then he shrugged and moved forwards, placing his dick against Castiel's anus, pressing forwards a little before pulling back again, teasing little strokes that soon had Cas whimpering for more.

He kept it up for a few minutes, sometimes reaching around to stroke Castiel's chest or tweak his nipples, before deciding that he'd had enough teasing and starting to push forward. He rubbed Castiel's back soothingly as he slowly buried himself inside his little brother, thrusting in and out, going slowly deeper on each inward stroke. He let out a sigh of contentment when he was finally all the way in, echoed by Castiel beneath him.

Deciding it was time to get on with the main show, Gabriel started moving more forcefully, adjusting his angle a few times before Castiel's gasp told him he'd found his prostate again. He leaned down, able to keep thrusting as he started biting at Cas' neck and shoulders again, reducing the younger boy to a quivering mess of nerves.

Every now and then Gabriel could make out a 'more', 'harder', or 'Gabby!' amongst Castiel's whimpers and moans. It was intoxicating, and Gabriel was fairly sure that there wasn't much that could top the rush of power and arousal going through him right now. He felt himself approaching his own climax and reached down to stroke Castiel as well, then managed to pull Castiel's head back with one hand and whisper close to his ear.

"Come for me now, Love." With that he bit down on the first mark he'd given Cas, and then Castiel was screaming his release as he tensed and came over Gabriel's hand. Gabriel felt himself come undone and growled Castiel's name as he thrust haphazardly inside him, his orgasm quickly sapping his strength and will to move.

Castiel collapsed down onto the bed, Gabriel lying on top of him, as they both struggled to breath. He could feel the sticky puddle underneath himself, knowing that it would leave a stain, but couldn't bring himself to care.

Gabriel managed to lift himself up and to one side, then started rubbing at Castiel's shoulders.

"You can lower your hands now, it's okay." He couldn't help but smile at the way Castiel did whatever he said. He continued to massage Cas' upper body, knowing that the muscles would be sore from being in one position for so long, before he realised that the shoulders under his hands were shaking.

"Castiel?" he whispered, then forced Cas to turn around and face him. He immediately felt fear flood through him – Cas was crying. "Shit, Cas, are you okay? Did I hurt you? I'm so–"

His apology was cut off as Cas lunged forwards and kissed him, effectively shutting him up for a moment.

"Don't you dare apologise," Cas pulled back just enough to glare at Gabriel for a moment, before snuggling forwards into his chest. "You… you love me."

"Of course," Gabriel blinked in confusion, rubbing Castiel's back again. "You're my brother, I've always loved you. Now things have shifted a bit, but I still love you. Always will."

"No one's ever said that to me before," Castiel whimpered, clinging to Gabriel.

Gabriel opened his mouth to protest, then closed it again. Expressions of love were something that usually came from parents… and Cas could barely remember their father. Even growing up, Gabriel had been the most demonstrative with his affections, and he didn't think he'd ever actually told any of his brothers that he loved them.

He swallowed hard, then held Castiel even tighter.

"Well, I do," Gabriel nuzzled into Castiel's hair. "And I'm not letting you go, either."

"Mmm," Castiel hummed in contentment. "'Cause I'm yours, right?"

"Half right. You forget that I'm yours as well."

Both deciding that was as much fluff as they could stand, the two fell silent and slowly drifted back into sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: A short little bit of darkness for Gabriel, before we do a time-jump – y'know, originally the story was going to just follow Dean's life? Apparently the angels had something to say about that.

Warnings: Just a few threats, really.

-MWM-

It was a few days after Gabriel had finally give in. He and Castiel had spent some time thrashing out the new rules and getting used to the new dynamic between them, and Gabriel hadn't felt comfortable enough to leave his brother alone when he didn't have classes to attend. Now, however, there was something he needed to do.

He was leaning against the side of a building, arms crossed over his chest and glaring at anyone who got too close. It was a pretty shady area of town, and he wasn't happy that he had to be here. But this was necessary, especially if he was going to take Castiel out in the future.

Soon enough he recognised a girl hurrying towards the building, and narrowed his eyes at her. He was standing right next to the door she needed to enter, so she stopped a few feet away.

"Can… can I help you with something?" She sounded nervous, and well she should, Gabriel thought to himself.

"Yes, Katie, you can," he moved forwards. Gabriel might not have been all that tall, but he knew how to move himself – Kali had called him her golden panther a few times – and Katie's eyes widened. "The party at Kali's last weekend. You met someone there, a boy of eighteen. Dark hair and bright blue eyes. Goes by Cas."

"Uh, yeah… listen, dude, if you're his brother, Kali's already chewed me out–"

"Shut up," Gabriel was standing in her personal space now, and heard her whimper. Good. "I've never punched a woman. Hell, I've rarely hurt guys. But if you come near Cas again, if you send anyone you know to him, if you approach him at a party or contact him at all… I will make you suffer. And I know where you live."

With that he stepped away and walked off. He heard her whimper and run towards the building, and let out a dark laugh.

He might not be able to actually do anything to Katie, since he had no evidence of her breaking any laws, but he could threaten a lot. And if it came down to it… Gabriel would do whatever it took to protect his brother.

He'd be careful, though – if he did need to hurt someone, he'd make damn sure that he never got caught.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Timejump! We're back to the Winchesters. Things look up for Sam, and Dean makes his latest questionable decision.

Warnings: Sammy being a little bitch. Possible alcoholism. Another Crowley deal.

-MWM-

Dean sat outside the apartment he and Sam now lived in, drinking his way through a six-pack by himself. He was twenty two now, able to buy the stuff legally. Sammy was inside, sulking yet again, and he just wanted to ignore their problems for a while.

Now that Sam was firmly into his teenage years – he was a senior in high school – the fights were coming more and more often. Sam wanted to do his own thing, wanted to study and had his own part-time job at the local bookstore, wanted a respectable life. Dean was afraid that meant he was ashamed of Dean's lifestyle.

Dean himself couldn't see anything wrong with it. Roughly once every six months, Crowley would ask if he wanted to swap jobs – usually after Dean had been on his knees for him – and every time Dean had said he preferred to stay a bouncer. He'd started fooling around with some of the other girls, having discovered that he found both sexes attractive, but he still didn't feel comfortable sleeping with a stranger.

Sure, he drank a fair bit, but he only rarely got drunk, and he never touched the drugs some of the girls offered him. So he got into fights at the local bars now and then – usually it was defending one of the locals from pig-headed tourists who were only in town for the brothels. So he was screwing, or getting screwed by, his boss – it was just a bit of fun, and they both knew it. Dean was perfectly happy with his life.

Okay, maybe not happy – he'd have liked to have someone he could count on to have his back when he got into fights, would have liked someone to call his own, but that wasn't going to happen any time soon. He wanted to have his easy relationship with his brother back, but Sam didn't seem to want much to do with him lately. Things were getting screwed to hell, and Dean didn't know how to fix them.

So he drank some more, and ignored the fact that Sam was slipping further and further away from him.

-MWM-

"Sammy… you got into all these?" Dean tried to keep his heart from breaking at the sight of all the acceptance letters Sam had received. They covered the table, and he'd never seen Sam looking more proud.

"I honestly didn't think I would," Sam looked floored. "Even got a few scholarship offers…"

"Yeah, well, you've got a good sob-story to sell them," Dean grinned at him. "Orphan with brains, raised by his big brother in a seedy back-town motel…"

"It wasn't that bad," Sam rushed to reassure his brother. "You did the best you could. I wouldn't have gotten into any of these without you backing me."

"Sammy, please, spare me the chick-flick moment." Sam rolled his eyes at that, though Dean could see the grin trying to fight its way onto his face. "So, any idea where you wanna go?"

"Well, MIT's got a great line-up," Sam picked up that letter. "And they're offering a full ride."

Dean's heart sank again. Boston was all the way across the country. He wasn't sure he could handle having Sam that far away.

"But Boston's cold," he said instead, pulling a face. Sam laughed at that.

"Yeah, and… well, I'd really like to get into law…" he ended on almost a whisper, as though scared of what Dean's reaction would be.

"Law?" Dean was more surprised than anything else. "As in, Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney?"

"Jerk," Sam muttered, glad that Dean wasn't reacting worse. "As in becoming a lawyer, yes. I just… find it fascinating. And I could help people who need it. Let's face it, life could have been easier for us if we'd known enough about the laws to fend for ourselves."

"Easier doesn't mean better," Dean shifted uncomfortably. This had been a touchy subject between them ever since Sam had realised what Dean had done – basically selling himself to Crowley to keep Sam in school.

"Whatever," Sam dropped it. He didn't want to have that argument again either. "But none of the places offering law courses have offered any type of scholarship–"

"Sam, forget that," Dean said firmly. "You decide where you really want to go, and we'll figure something out. This is your future, remember? That thing I've been trying to give you for the last seven years?"

"Well…" Sam looked nervous, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "Stanford's offered a great pre-law course…"

"Stanford? Where's that?"

"It's just out of San Francisco. Couple of days drive from here, so I could come back for breaks and stuff," Sam was looking hopeful, which eased some of the clenching Dean could feel his insides doing. "Or you could come visit if you get a few days off. Whenever you wanted."

"Sounds perfect," Dean nodded, looking for the acceptance letter. "So how do you accept the acceptance?"

"Dean, wait," Sam shook his head. "Have you even looked at how much it's gonna cost? Even with me working part-time, I'm not sure–"

"Do you really want to go there?" Dean asked, looking into Sam's eyes. "Is Stanford gonna make you happy?"

"There's other places that are cheaper," Sam hedged.

"But not as good, right?" Dean watched for the slow nod. "And they're further away too, I'll bet."

"Yeah," Sam whispered, defeated. He didn't like the idea of leaving Dean by himself, even if it was to get into a career he really wanted.

"So you'll accept, and we'll find a way to pay for it."

"How?" Sam looked sceptical, already dreading the answer.

"I'll think of something." With that, he grabbed the letter and his jacket, heading for the door.

"Dean, don't go to Crowley," Sam called out, fear clenching in his gut.

Dean, however, showed no sign of having heard him.

-MWM-

"So, little Sammy's all grown up and ready for college?" Crowley asked, pouring a drink for himself and Dean.

"Yeah. Got accepted into at least a dozen. Thing is…" Dean accepted the drink and tossed it back in one gulp. Crowley frowned at him, having taught him better than to do that to fine scotch, and he looked apologetic. "Thing is, he wants to go to Stanford. They've accepted him into a pre-law course."

"And you can't afford it," Crowley guessed. Dean nodded, eyes falling. "You want to take out another loan."

"Yeah," Dean still couldn't look at him. "I know you've done a lot for us, and I shouldn't be asking for more, but–"

"Do you have the list of fees?" Crowley interrupted his rambling, and Dean handed over the letter. Dark eyes swept down it, eyebrows raising a little at one point. "Hm. Didn't realise the kid got that high on his scores. And I didn't even have to bribe the education board."

Dean opened his mouth to question that, then shut it again. He decided he really didn't want to know.

"I can swing this," Crowley eventually nodded, and Dean's eyes went wide. "I have a friend who owns an apartment building near the university – he usually rents it out to students anyway, and he owes me a few favours. I can get Sam a place there. I'll pay the rent, pay for his course and school-related supplies. He pays for his own food, bills, and anything else. But," he looked directly at Dean, eyes deadly serious. "This is going to be expensive. On just a bouncer's wage, even if you pick up more shifts, you'll be paying me back for at least another decade."

"I know," Dean nodded, taking a deep breath. "I heard Jamie wants to leave." Jamie was one of the few male prostitutes Crowley employed, and by far the most popular. If Crowley couldn't replace him quickly, he'd lose a lot of business. "I'll take his place."

Crowley sat looking at Dean for several minutes, watching as the younger man tried not to squirm.

"You'll whore yourself out to put Sammy through college," Crowley eventually said bluntly. Dean winced a little, but nodded. There was silence again, before Crowley picked up the phone. As he dialled and spoke, he kept looking at Dean.

"Good afternoon, love. I have an acceptance letter here for a Samuel Winchester. He'll be accepting your offer, and I'd like to pay the deposit."

Dean sighed in relief, closing his eyes. It was going to be okay, Sam was going to have a future. He was still nervous about what that meant he had to do, but for Sammy he'd do anything.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: This one's short and mostly exposition, I'll admit, but it's for a good reason – next chapter is where Gabriel and Dean meet up again! Also, Cas gets a chance to be dominant and possessive over Gabriel.

Warnings: Language, references to prostitution.

-MWM-

"You idiot! You stupid, stubborn moron!"

"Okay, so I'll grab pizza instead."

"Dean, this isn't about dinner!" Sam threw his hands up in frustration. Dean was amazed – he'd thought that people only did that in books or movies, but apparently Sammy was going for the major dramatics.

"Sammy, calm down. It's not that big a deal." He knew that his brother wasn't taking the news of Dean's newest deal well, but it really wasn't that bad.

"Not that… Dean, you were almost clear of him, and now you just go and add this to it!" Sam was close to tears at the situation. He'd always known how much Dean gave up so that Sam could have the best opportunities, and had tried not to ask for anything more. But Dean apparently put Sam's future ahead of his own wellbeing, and had gone and done something stupid yet again.

"I'm not going to accept it," Sam folded his arms across his chest. "I'll find somewhere else."

"Too late," Dean shrugged easily. "Crowley's already accepted for you and paid the deposit. Seriously dude, you're making this worse than it really is. You know that I've been fooling around for years – why not get paid to do it?"

"Because you wouldn't have to do this if not for me," Sam told him brokenly. "If not for me, you would have gone to another family after Dad died, and you would have grown up properly instead of having to deal with raising me and working nights. You would have had a future."

"Bullshit," Dean called it easily. "If I'd been alone after Dad died, with Cas abandoning me at the same time, I would've jumped off the nearest bridge. There wouldn't have been anything to keep going for. Being a man-whore beats being dead, don't you think?"

Sam gaped at his brother for several seconds, never having imagined that Dean felt this way. Dean just looked back, fully prepared to meet any argument that Sam threw at him. Realising it was a lost cause already – Dean could be the most pig-headed guy around when he set his mind to something – Sam shook his head and sighed.

"I… fine, I'll go."

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Dean grinned at him. "And when you're a hot-shot lawyer and all, raking in the money, you can pay to keep me around."

"Fair enough," Sam reluctantly smiled back. Stanford was the chance to do everything he'd always wanted. He just wished that it didn't come with such a heavy price tag.

-MWM-

"So, I guess this is it," Sam said as he looked down at his hands. They'd just finished unpacking his things in his new apartment in Palo Alto, which meant that Dean was about to head back home. Sam was nearly overcome by the wave of sadness that washed over him – since the disastrous camping trip when he was twelve, he hadn't been away from Dean for more than a couple of days. Now he was going to try living by himself so far away from his brother's comforting presence, and he wasn't sure how either of them were going to cope.

"Quit your worrying," Dean smacked him on the back. "You're gonna be in geek heaven. And you can always come home, whenever you need to."

"I know. I just…"

"You're scared about living by yourself?" Dean hazarded a guess. "Freaked by the fact that I'm not gonna be here to keep your giant ass out of trouble? Orgasmically happy at thought of the campus library?"

"All of the above," Sam grinned. "Though I'd use different terminology."

"Of course you would. Now, remember to call me every week. Cause if you don't, I'll assume something's gone wrong and I'll drive up here, and if it turns out you're fine and just forgot I'll kick your ass so hard you won't be able to sit for lectures. Got it?"

"Yes, Dean."

"And try to have fun. I mean, study hard and all the rest, but go out too. I want to hear of at least five friends by Christmas."

"Yes, Dean."

"And if I find out you're on drugs, I'll drag you back home so fast your head'll spin."

"Dean! I got it," Sam grinned finally, stepping forward and hugging his brother. "I'm gonna miss you too."

"Yeah, yeah," Dean grumbled, but he let Sam hug him, which spoke volumes to the younger man. "Listen, I gotta get back. You're gonna do great."

"Yeah…" Sam sighed and released Dean, stepping back. "It's just gonna take some getting used to, right?"

"Exactly. I'll see you at Christmas, if not before."

"Sure thing."

And with a final pat to Bobby's head, Dean was gone, heading back to the Impala to drive back home. Back to the empty apartment that had seemed so small at first, but which was now going to feel too large. Dean knew that he was going to have a lot of trouble getting used to not having Sam around anymore.

-MWM-

After his first night of working the sheets, Dean tried to remember what it was he'd been so worried about. He'd enjoyed sex ever since Crowley took his virginity at his eighteenth birthday party, and had fooled around with plenty of the other workers before, so he knew what he was doing. And it was good money – far better than he'd been earning when he first got here as a cleaner.

The next few months passed without incident. Sam remembered to call at least once a week, sometimes more, and Dean was glad. It meant that he could still keep tabs on the kid, even from the next state. He was doing well so far, getting along with the various teachers, and had fallen in with a group of other hopeful lawyers. A girl called Jess was mentioned a few times, which Dean quickly picked up on. He was fairly sure that little Sammy was sweet on her, and teased him mercilessly until he agreed to ask her out.

The next time Sam called, he was half panicking because she'd said yes, and he didn't know what to do next. Once Dean had stopped laughing, he'd given the poor kid a few pointers.

Christmas was fun, since Sam came home and was finally allowed to come to the annual worker's Christmas party. Several of the girls offered to take Sam aside and teach him how to please his new girlfriend, only to start cooing in a motherly fashion as Sam blushed and stumbled through his apologies.

Dean had then offered to go find Jess and take her aside to give her some pointers, only to be told that he wouldn't be going anywhere near Jess unless she and Sam got married, and then only after the wedding.

It wasn't until a few days later that Dean realised Sam's comment could be taken a few different ways, and he started to wonder if Sam was ashamed of him.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: We have the first re-meeting of Gabriel and Dean ahead! Something that's been floating around inside my brain ever since I decided on doing this fic. This chapter was actually quite difficult to write, even though I've pictured it so many times. Possibly because it means we're getting to what was originally the main plot of the story, Gabriel trying to take care of Dean. At any rate, enjoy.

Warnings: Slight D/s (Cas shows his dominant streak), prostitution, gay sex.

-MWM-

"Congratulations!" Gabriel caught Kali in a hug and twirled her around, much to the smaller woman's annoyance. "Knew you had it in you."

"Please. It was hardly a challenge." She tried to look dismissive, even as she hid a smile.

"Right. Graduating top of your class is no big deal. I dunno why everyone's not doing it."

"Shut up," Kali finally smiled at him.

"Hey, I'm just proud of you. I remember that shy, insecure little girl who started here, homesick and lonely…"

"Shy and insecure?" Kali raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure you're thinking of someone else."

Gabriel paused, thinking it over.

"Actually, you're right. You've been a grade-A bitch all along."

"It's why we get along so well," Kali shrugged, not taking offense. "Anyway, there's a group of us going down to Nevada this weekend, for an overnight party at this high-class brothel. Baldur's hoping you won't go."

"He is, huh?" Gabriel smirked, then paused. "Wait. Overnight at a brothel?"

"Yes. They're determined to get you laid."

"Uh…"

"I tried telling them that it wasn't necessary, but you know what they're like. You've not introduced your mysterious boyfriend to our little family, so they're convinced he doesn't exist."

"Kali, you know why I haven't."

"Yes, I do." There was a pause, then Kali sighed. "Look, if Castiel really doesn't want you to go, I'll think of something. But just ask him, please. I'd like you to be there. And you don't have to sleep with a hooker if you don't want to."

"Fine," Gabriel gave in. "I'll ask. But don't hold your breath."

-MWM-

Castiel had been pacing the living room for the last ten minutes. Gabriel had successfully put of asking permission to leave until not long before Kali was due to pick him up, and he was fairly sure that Cas was going to say no.

"Wait there," Cas bit out, before disappearing into the bedroom. Gabriel sat still on the couch, then jumped when he felt something close around his throat.

"What the–"

"It's a collar, Gabriel. You will not remove it." Castiel's voice had lowered almost to the dangerous range of 'I'm about to punch someone out', and Gabriel shivered. His little brother didn't take charge often, but when he did it was damn sexy. Gabriel blinked and swallowed the drool that was accumulating before answering.

"Screw Kali, I'll just stay in all weekend." With that he rose and tried to snag Castiel into a hug, only to have the younger man sidestep gracefully out of the way, putting the couch between them.

"No, you asked to go," Cas folded his arms, eyes glinting. "So this is what will happen. You will go, you will have fun and celebrate with Kali, but you will not remove that collar. You will find a male prostitute and discover something new to introduce to our sex life. If there are no males, you may speak with a female, but not sleep with them. Are we clear?"

"Cas…"

"Are. We. Clear?"

Gabriel let out a whimper, and then nodded. Castiel smiled at him then and came within reach for a farewell kiss. As a knock on the door was heard, they pulled apart reluctantly, and Cas went to greet Kali while Gabriel threw some clothes into a bag.

"You're actually letting him come along?" Kali was surprised.

"He has instructions," Cas smirked. "He's meant to find a male and learn something new, and not allowed to have sex with any females. You'll keep an eye on him for me, right?"

"Of course," Kali nodded. Her eyes lit up with mirth when Gabriel appeared and saw the addition to his wardrobe. "Oh, I wish I'd thought of doing that to him! It would have eliminated so many problems and unwanted behaviours."

"It's not a shock collar, Kali," Gabriel sighed, then paled as Cas handed the trigger over to the happy graduate. "Cas…"

"To make sure you behave," Castiel shrugged. "Now go. Have fun."

"Oh we will," Kali grinned as she dragged her reluctant ex out of the apartment and down to the waiting car.

-MWM-

"'The Red Moon House'. Classy," Baldur drawled with his upper-class British accent.

"Ah, shut it Baldur," Gabriel rolled his eyes. "You're the one who said to have the party out of L. A."

"Yes, but not at a brothel," the older man narrowed his eyes. "Anyway, why are you even here? You keep saying that you have a boyfriend, that none of us have actually met."

"Yeah, and he gave me permission to go screw another bloke," Gabriel grinned. "Don't you wish your girlfriend was as awesome?"

"She is," Kali commented calmly. The entire group was then entertained by Baldur trying to assure Kali that she was 'awesome', and Gabriel doing his best to make things worse.

They finally managed to get inside, and into the area of the brothel which was acting as a club for the night. The group was fairly nervous at first, though there were enough other customers that soon everyone relaxed.

Baldur was at the bar, it being his turn to buy, when Gabriel spotted someone who made his mouth water. It was a man taller than him, taller than Baldur too. His hair was dark brown, though Gabriel couldn't tell what colour his eyes were from this distance. He was also wearing only a pair of skin-tight pants, with an odd tattoo on his left pectoral.

Kali looked up, since Gabriel had stopped mid-sentence. Normally getting him to shut up was quite the feat, though Castiel had discovered several quite effective methods. She moved her gaze from her friend to where he was looking, then grinned.

"Oh yes, he's beautiful. If only I'd seen him first…"

"Kali, you have a boyfriend."

"Yes, but we are in a brothel," Kali waved dismissively. "And Baldur's getting boring, anyway. I could do with a newer model."

Gabriel blinked at her in surprise, then leaned forwards and banged his head on the table. He could hear Kali laughing, and glared as he looked up her. Then he looked over to where the cute guy had been standing, but was unable to find him. He frowned a little, then nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Nice collar," a deep, rich voice spoke in his ear. "Does your master know that you're out?"

"I, uh, I–"

"I'm keeping an eye on him," Kali commented, a smirk on her face as she assessed the stranger. "He's under strict instructions to discover something to bring back to his boyfriend."

"That sounds like a challenge," the man was grinning as he stepped into Gabriel's field of view and pulled him up by the hand, though he directed his words to Kali. "Am I allowed to sweep him off his feet?"

"You'll do," she responded, leaning back in her chair and smiling at them both. "Though he's a reformed slut, so there's not much left to teach him."

"We'll see about that." There was something familiar about the guy's smirk, and Gabriel wondered briefly if they'd had a fling before. "C'mon Goldilocks, let's find out what makes you tick."

"Bitch," he whispered as the man led him behind Kali's seat. Kali just laughed and waved at him.

The man's arm was around his waist, and Gabriel realised that he fit quite nicely against the taller male. There were several inches of difference between them, and the guy was nicely built too. He couldn't help but run his fingers over the exposed abdomen next to him, drawing a deep chuckle that went straight to Gabriel's groin.

"You wanna give it a shot out here?" The man slid his hand down to caress Gabriel's backside as they walked. Which, oddly enough, brought Gabriel's more dominant side back to the forefront. Yes, he'd been caught off guard, and it had been a while since he'd had sex with someone who wasn't Castiel, but that was no reason to act like a blushing virgin. So he smirked up at his companion, relaxing his shoulders and walking more smoothly.

"Maybe later. For now, I want you all to myself."

"Excellent," the man leant down and nipped Gabriel's ear, before straightening again.

Soon, Gabriel found himself pinned to a door, with the man's mouth on his neck. He couldn't believe how turned on he was getting, feeling a stranger's tongue probing beneath the collar Cas had put on him. One hand was at the back of the man's neck, the other working on undoing his own shirt. After a few minutes, the man stepped back – and Gabriel would forever deny any allegations that he whined at the loss of company.

"So, how do you want me?" The man put a hand either side of Gabriel's head and looked him in the eye. Green, Gabriel thought breathlessly, his eyes are green. "Flat on my back? On all fours?" He leaned in and gently ran his teeth along Gabriel's jawline. "Y'see, I have a feeling that you don't have a master. You're too dominant to regularly submit to another." He paused here, as though considering. "Or maybe that's it. Maybe you're here to get a cock up your arse. Is that what you want? For me to fuck you until you're seeing stars?" Gabriel tried to bite back a moan of arousal, but didn't think he succeeded. The man chuckled again, and Gabriel was so aroused that he knew he wasn't going to last long tonight. "So that's how it is. Well, let's get going then. Don't want to disappoint you."

With that, the man helped Gabriel to get out of his clothes, and led him towards the bed. Gabriel knelt on it, knowing that this would be the easiest position to start with.

He felt the other man mouthing at his shoulders, and forced himself to relax. Then there were fingers stroking his neck, toying with the collar, before he felt the man behind him freeze.

"Castiel…" He whispered, and Gabriel blinked in confusion. The way he said that name… it was so familiar, it was driving him crazy trying to figure it out. "Is that your boyfriend's name?"

"Yeah," Gabriel finally managed to speak. "How did you know?"

"Says it on the collar. Property of Castiel."

"Ah," Gabriel squirmed then, as he felt a hand slide down and start stroking him. "Yeah, he… he wanted to be sure… I knew who I was going home to."

There were fingers stroking along his back then, as well as the feather-light strokes to his cock, and he whimpered again, trying to move his hips to get more friction. But the guy was good, was able to anticipate every movement he made.

The hands were gone momentarily, then one slid between his ass cheeks, fingers slicked with sweet-smelling lube of some sort, and Gabriel sighed in contentment. He was nudged forwards, so that he was on all fours, and spread his legs as much as he was able.

"That's it," the man whispered as he started preparing Gabriel. "You know what to do. Of course you do, you've made Castiel do this often enough, haven't you? Stretched him open, gotten him ready to receive your cock. Listened to all the different sounds he makes, experimented to find all the new ones you could."

Gabriel was writhing now, moaning as he felt the fingers inside him, caressing him and hitting that sweet spot. Even hearing the man above him talking about Castiel wasn't turning him off – instead it was just making him more and more eager.

"I think you're ready now," the man withdrew his fingers, and Gabriel let out a whine. He wanted those fingers back, dammit! Then he heard something tear, and as he turned his head to look he saw the man rolling a condom onto himself.

Oh. That was okay then. Gabriel felt himself unable to look away from the man's dick, wanting it badly. It had been a while since he'd bottomed for someone, since Cas insisted that he preferred that position, and he found that he had missed it a little.

Then the man was pressing into him with something more than fingers, and Gabriel let his head fall forwards as he made a keening sound in the back of his throat. It burned a little, and he wasn't sure that he'd been stretched quite enough.

"Gabby," the man whispered into his ear as he fully buried himself, and Gabriel closed his eyes against the full feeling.

Then they snapped open, and he turned as much as he could to look at the man who had his cock up Gabriel's arse, recognition flooding through him at the childhood name.

"Dean?"


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Yeah, uh… this one gets pretty dark again. Pay attention to the warnings – Dean's gone downhill since we last checked on him. Way, way downhill. I'm honestly not sure if he's able to be redeemed after this chapter.

Warnings: Prostitution, NON-CON (pay attention!), denied orgasm, forced orgasm (yes, both – Dean's messed up).

-MWM-

"Hey Dean," Danni sat on the couch, playing with Dean's hair as he lay with his head in her lap. "Heard anything from Sammy lately?"

"Not for a couple of weeks," Dean whispered. He rarely spoke much anymore, since Sam stopped calling as often as he had after the Christmas of his freshman year. Without his little brother to take care of and talk to, Dean had withdrawn into his shell, practically living at the brothels unless Crowley forced him to go home. While he was earning a lot of money with the amount of clients he was servicing, the only things he really bought were alcohol and sometimes food.

Danni kept up the soothing motions of her hand. She was one of the few people who could get Dean relaxed enough to sleep properly, and had noticed that her pay had subtly increased after she'd taken to looking after her young co-worker. It was times like that when Crowley seemed almost human.

"You gonna be working the party?" She asked, a little curious. Dean tended to avoid large groups of people, claiming that he didn't like the noise.

"Sure. Crowley asked me a couple weeks ago. Jamie's the only other guy able to work that night, and he's strictly for the women."

"Hmmm," Danni hummed her agreement. Dean was willing to have sex with pretty much anyone – he'd gotten over his nerves about strangers fairly quickly, and had quickly gained several regulars of all persuasions. Jamie, on the other hand, was unwilling to even contemplate sex with another man.

The pair stayed on the couch until Dean fell asleep. Danni waited a few minutes, then carefully got up and started fixing dinner. By the time Dean awoke it would be ready, and she could make sure that he got a full meal this week.

-MWM-

Dean sighed and tried not to look bored as he moved through the crowd. He always hated nights like this, when there were no gay customers and the women were all too nervous or uninterested to approach him. Leaning a hip against the counter of the bar, he swept his gaze up and down it again. Nothing promising here, so he shifted his gaze out again. His eyes fell then on a short man sitting with a pretty dark-skinned woman, and felt his breath catch.

Gabriel Novak.

He didn't seem to have recognised Dean, though he was staring more at Dean's exposed chest than his face. That was fine by Dean, who felt something curling around his insides, some dark feeling that felt a lot like anger mixed with something like lust. It was something he hadn't felt often before, but it was intoxicating, and he knew that he wanted to get Gabriel into bed. Wanted to make Gabriel pay to get fucked. He could feel himself starting to get aroused, and took his chance when Gabriel looked away to his companion.

Slipping easily through the crowd, Dean approached from behind, noticing that Gabriel was wearing a collar. He fought not to laugh at that – Gabriel was far too independent to allow someone to collar him. Much like a cat. Though if the older man was in a relationship, that was going to make seducing him all the more fun.

"Nice collar," he spoke directly into Gabriel's ear, smirking at the twitch it invoked. "Does your master know you're out?"

"I, uh, I–" Dean held in a chuckle at Gabriel's sudden inability to form a sentence. That wasn't at all like the man he remembered – though to be fair, ten years had passed since they'd seen each other.

"I'm keeping an eye on him," the woman spoke then. Dean had the uncomfortable feeling that she was judging him as she ran her eyes over him. She was clearly a friend of both Gabriel and his partner. "He's under strict instructions to discover something to bring back to his boyfriend."

"That sounds like a challenge," Dean grinned at her as he finally stepped around to let Gabriel see him again. He reached down and pulled his former friend up by the hand, keeping his words addressed to the woman. "Am I allowed to sweep him off his feet?"

"You'll do," she looked like she was getting bored now, even as she was smiling slightly. "Though he's a reformed slut, so there's not much left to teach him."

I'll bet he is, Dean thought to himself, though he kept that thought to himself. Instead he smirked at tonight's plaything.

"We'll see about that. C'mon Goldilocks, let's find out what makes you tick." He pulled Gabriel to his side, wrapping an arm around the shorter man's waist. He was startled to find just how much shorter Gabriel was – the last time they'd seen each other, Dean had been smaller, and had looked up to Gabriel so much that it was hard to reconcile their new heights. It probably helped to keep Gabriel from recognising him, though.

Fingers were running over his abdomen then, and Dean let out a deep chuckle that he knew was pure sex. Seemed Gabby was getting his nerve back.

"You wanna give it a shot out here?" He slid a hand down to caress Gabriel's ass, not being all that against public sex anymore. By now, he'd done pretty much everything legal, and a few things that were questionable.

"Maybe later," Gabriel responded, his old smirk firmly back in place. It did something good for Dean's libido, and he bit his own cheek to keep from jumping Gabriel right there. "For now, I want you all to myself."

"Excellent," Dean leant down and nipped at Gabriel's ear, hoping to keep himself distracted long enough to reach the room. As soon as they were inside, Dean pinned Gabriel against the door and attacked his neck, running his tongue underneath the collar. From the sounds he was making, it seemed like it was seriously turning Gabriel on.

Pulling back a bit, Dean smirked at the whine that came out of Gabriel's throat, and the faint blush spread across his cheeks. Oh yeah, Gabby was going to be begging for it soon. Time to help him along a little.

"So, how do you want me?" Dean put a hand either side of Gabriel's head, leaning in to look him in the eye. Gabriel looked a little dazed, which did only good things for Dean's pride. "Flat on my back? On all fours?" He then leant in to nip at Gabriel's jawline, slowly winding the shorter man tighter into his grasp. "Y'see, I have a feeling that you don't have a master. You're too dominant to regularly submit to another." There was a twitch underneath him, and Dean paused as though thinking. He already knew what that twitch meant though – it meant that Gabby was nearly ready to submit to him. "Or maybe that's it. Maybe you're here to get a cock up your arse. Is that what you want? For me to fuck you until you're seeing stars?"

Dean could hear and feel the moan of arousal that went through Gabriel at that statement, and he chuckled again.

"So that's how it is. Well, let's get going then. Don't want to disappoint you."

He quickly helped Gabriel out of his clothes before leading him to the bed. Gabriel got up on it without prompting, kneeling in the middle, and Dean knew how he was going to take his old friend. He climbed up behind him, resting his legs either side of Gabriel's, and started mouthing at his shoulders. Not wanting to leave any marks that could be used against him later, Dean only hinted at teeth as he nipped, feeling Gabriel becoming more and more relaxed under his hands. He stroked at Gabriel's neck, toying with the collar, before he noticed that it had writing on the back. Wanting to know the name of Gabriel's boyfriend, he looked closer – then froze.

"Castiel…" he whispered. A sick feeling swept through Dean then. "Is that your boyfriend's name?"

"Yeah," Gabriel sounded a little confused, and Dean had to bite his lip to keep from yanking the collar tighter, strangling the man kneeling in front of him. "How did you know?"

"Says it on the collar. Property of Castiel." Dean felt the dark feeling from earlier return with a vengeance, and ran a hand down Gabriel's chest to start stroking his cock, feather-light to tease without giving satisfaction.

"Ah," Gabriel was squirming then, trying to get more friction, but Dean refused him. "Yeah, he… he wanted to be sure… I knew who I was going home to."

Dean kept up the teasing strokes for a few minutes, trying to keep himself under control. Rage was flooding through him though, making it difficult to concentrate. So that was why they hadn't called him when they went away – too busy screwing each other. He'd been such a fool, thinking that Castiel learned everything he had through just reading. Gabriel had probably taught him he knew, had corrupted Dean's best friend.

He removed his hands for a moment, grabbing the lube and slicking his fingers quickly before reaching down again, running them through Gabriel's ass cheeks and against his anus. Gabriel sighed beneath him, and Dean was gripped by the desire to punish him for everything. He nudged him forwards gently so that Gabriel was on all fours, then smirked to himself as Gabby spread his legs as much as he was able.

"That's it," Dean whispered as he pressed a slick finger into Gabriel. "You know what to do. Of course you do, you've made Castiel do this often enough, haven't you?" He was using all of his self-control to not tear into Gabriel physically, but he could give him a bit of a verbal lashing. "Stretched him open, gotten him ready to receive your cock." Gabriel let out a moan at that, as Dean found his prostate before pressing in another finger. He knew Gabriel wasn't quite stretched enough, but didn't care. "Listened to all the different sounds he makes, experimenting to find all the new ones you could."

He briefly pressed in a third finger, able to wriggle them around slightly, then pulled back completely, drawing a whine from the man beneath him.

"I think you're ready now," Dean ran his eyes over Gabriel's form, then fetched a condom from the pants he'd dropped next to the bed. As he tore it open and started rolling it onto himself, he noticed that Gabriel was staring at his dick as though he were starving for it. Dean had the brief urge to make Gabriel suck him off, then decided against it. Maybe later. For now, though, he wanted to fuck him.

He climbed back onto the bed and rubbed his hands over Gabriel's arse, then guided himself to the barely-prepared hole. He could feel Gabriel trying to relax the muscles around him, and went slowly. After all, he wanted to punish Gabriel, but any tearing could be used to say that this wasn't consensual.

Finally encased to the hilt, Dean leant forwards, knowing that now was the time to jog Gabriel's memory.

"Gabby," he whispered into Gabriel's ear, noticing the closed eyes. They snapped open after a moment, and Gabriel tried to turn around – something made difficult by the grip Dean had on him.

"Dean!"

"Yep," Dean purred, shifting his hips a little so that he was pressed against Gabriel's prostate. This drew a gasp, before Gabriel tried to move away. Dean wasn't about to let him go, however, and held his hips tightly.

"Dean, what are you doing here?" Gabriel sounded shocked, a little panicked, and a little happy, for some reason.

"Fucking you," Dean answered easily, withdrawing a little before thrusting in again. "It's what you paid for, right?"

"Dean, stop, we need to talk."

"What about?" Dean lowered his head and nipped at the shoulder in front of him as he kept moving his hips. "The fact that you were too busy screwing your brother to help me when I needed it? The fact that you and Cas abandoned me? The fact that you're getting taken up the arse by your brother's childhood friend?"

"Dean, stop this–"

"No," Dean growled, moving faster. He slid a hand down from its position on Gabriel's hip to cup his genitals. He noticed that Gabriel had lost his erection, apparently no longer turned on.

Too bad.

"Please Dean, we didn't–"

"Shut up," Dean's thrusts became harder, punishing, and he angled himself to hit Gabriel's prostate again. The smaller man was trying to squirm away, shaking his head in denial, but there was nowhere for him to go. Dean was stroking his cock again, and despite the situation, despite the fear and now pain, Gabriel felt himself getting hard again. He choked back a sob, wanting to be anywhere but there, and buried his face in his arms.

"Now now," Dean growled again, squeezing his dick too hard, "head up. You brought this on yourself, stop hiding."

"Please, you're hurting me," Gabriel whispered. He was frantically trying to reconcile the Dean he'd known as a child, as a teenager, and the Dean who was practically raping him.

"I know," Dean grinned. "But you hurt me. You took Cas away."

"I didn't–"

There was a sharp slap to his thigh, and Gabriel jerked, tears gathering in his eyes. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Dean wouldn't act like this.

Then he wondered – he'd thought that Castiel would never turn to drugs when left alone. If Dean was going through the same problems, wasn't it possible that he was just as messed up?

Gabriel hung his head, letting the tears fall as Dean continued to pound into him. He hated himself for it, but the way Dean kept stroking him combined with the repeated pressure to his prostate was bringing him closer to climax. Feeling himself getting closer, he let out a sob and shook his head, not wanting this.

"Please Dean, stop this! Just talk to me, let me explain–"

"No."

"Please!" Gabriel was begging now, pride well and truly gone. He felt himself locking up, and knew he was about to orgasm, when Dean suddenly grabbed his balls and twisted.

"Fuck!" Gabriel screamed, the pain cutting through his climax and causing fresh tears to fall. Dean was still going, still setting a harsh pace, and Gabriel had the sinking feeling that this was going to continue for quite a while.

Dean halted two more orgasms before he finally thrust deeply and allowed himself to climax inside Gabriel. He could feel Gabriel sobbing as he collapsed on top of the shorter male, running his hands over whatever skin he could reach.

Getting up, he quickly disposed of the soiled condom and used a towel from under the bed to clean himself up, then climbed back up and pulled Gabriel into his arms, spooning him. He gently ran his hands over Gabriel's chest, caressing, toying with the stiff nipples, then ran a hand back down to slowly stroke Gabriel's still-hard cock.

"Dean, please, no more," Gabriel shook his head, but had no more energy to try and leave. He was sore from staying in the one position, was certain that he couldn't walk without limping and wouldn't be able to sit for a week. And Dean kept stroking him, teasing caresses that kept him hard without letting him reach satisfaction.

"You wanted to talk," Dean whispered, entangling Gabriel's legs with his own. "So talk."

"Stop touching me, I can't–"

"You paid to get an orgasm. You haven't had one yet. I'll have to keep trying until you do."

"No," Gabriel whimpered, but his hips were twitching without his permission.

"Yes. Now. Talk. You kept trying to earlier." Dean's voice was low and dangerous, and Gabriel knew he would be in for worse treatment if he didn't obey.

"I wasn't screwing Cas," Gabriel decided to start with that, since Dean had kept mentioning that. "I swear. I went away to college, got a scholarship that let me attend. Then after a while I went home for a break, and found that Cas was screwed up, on drugs and alcohol, with a whole group of people using him for sex and to test new drugs on. I got him out of there, but I didn't know how else to help him."

Dean's hand stilled for a moment, then started stroking a little harder. Gabriel let out a moan as it eased some of the pressure building inside, and felt Dean pressing kisses to his neck and shoulders.

"I… when he was high and drunk, he kept trying to kiss me," Gabriel managed to continue. "Then when he sobered up, he still kept trying. He wanted someone to love him. So we made a deal, I'd sleep with him if he stayed clean. It… after that, we were lovers. I love him. I do what I can to take care of him, and he's been mostly clean for seven years. Had a few slips, but I couldn't hold it against him. He's trying, and I love him too much to turn him away."

The hand on his cock was stroking firm and fast, and Gabriel was breathing hard, hips moving, trying to get more. Then the hand let go, and there was a little distance between him and Dean again.

"A sad story," Dean whispered, and Gabriel thought for a moment that he was sorry, that it was going to be okay. Then he heard another tear, and before he could move Dean was pressing into him again, sliding easily into the now well-stretched passage.

"But you've always been good at telling stories."

"Dean please, I swear," Gabriel was crying again, though Dean was being gentle this time.

"You've always twisted the truth to suit yourself," Dean spoke directly into his ear, pulling Gabriel's leg over his to get a better angle. "And I don't believe you anymore. Stopped believing you when you promised you'd call, and you never did." He was stroking Gabriel again, in time with his slow thrusts.

"I tried!" Gabriel was too exhausted to move now, and just lay there, letting Dean do what he wanted. He only just had the energy to speak. "We both tried. But on the first day, our phones disappeared. We only found them when it was time to head back. When we heard your voicemails… God, Cas was freaking out. I've never seen him so worked up as when he thought you were all alone."

"I was," Dean kept moving, refusing to let himself believe what Gabriel was saying. After all, Gabriel was screwing his own little brother, he clearly couldn't be trusted. "My dad was killed. Child Protection would have split me and Sammy up. I had no one to help me figure out what to do. So I packed up with Sammy and we left. You have no idea what we went through. You don't get any sympathy from me."

"We tried," Gabriel closed his eyes and lay still, just wanting it to be over. "We tried."

"Not enough," Dean nipped at his shoulder.

There was no more talking after that. Dean finally allowed Gabriel to climax, before thrusting a few more times and reaching his own orgasm.

Leaving Gabriel on the bed, eyes closed and face stained by tears, Dean moved into the attached bathroom and cleaned himself up. When he came out again, Gabriel was gone, and he figured that was the last he'd see of him. After all, if Gabriel said anything about his rough treatment, Dean could easily get out of it by claiming it was what he'd been paid to do – and there was also the fact that he knew about Castiel.

Something tried to twinge in Dean's chest, and he recognised it as guilt trying to grow. He quickly drowned it in alcohol. Gabriel had hurt him first – he was just evening the score.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: You guys are making me nervous – so many hits, so few comments for that last chapter. Not even any flames to say that I'm a horrible person and should die. Seriously, I'm insecure and need constant reassurance that I'm doing this right!

…Okay, not really, but it is nice to hear what you guys think. Where are the regulars?

Now to deal with the fallout from last chapter in-story. Cas comforts Gabriel, then catches up with Dean.

Warnings: Aftermath of sexual assault, consensual couch-sex, violence, rough consensual wall-sex. Pretty heavy on the smut in this one.

-MWM-

Castiel was worried.

Gabriel had come home much earlier than expected, obviously upset about something. Cas had tried to cheer him up with a welcome-home blowjob, only to have Gabriel push him away and run to the bathroom. When the sound of retching soon followed, Castiel tried to go in and help, only to find the door was locked. That hadn't happened since the first month they'd lived together, and Cas nearly beat the door down in his sudden terror and need to get to his brother.

When Gabriel finally came back out, it was easy to see that he'd been crying. Again Cas tried to ask what was wrong, only to have Gabriel shake his head.

They were now sitting on the couch, usual positions reversed. Cas was sitting sideways against the arm of the couch, Gabriel sitting between his legs, curled into Castiel's chest. Cas was carding a hand through Gabriel's hair and humming something, trying to calm the older man. They'd been like this for the last hour, and Gabriel still hadn't spoken a word since coming home.

"Cas?" Gabriel finally broke the silence, and Castiel would have kissed him if he'd thought it wouldn't set off another panic attack.

"Hmm?" He hummed instead.

"I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course. You tell me at least once a day. More if we have sex."

Gabriel flinched at that, almost imperceptibly. Cas thought that if he hadn't been pressed right against his brother, he probably wouldn't have noticed.

"Gabe, what's this about?"

"I… did I hurt you? Did I force you into this?"

"Into what?" Cas was genuinely confused by how Gabriel's mind was working at the moment.

"Into this… us. Relationship. Whatever we're calling it."

"Is your memory broken?" Cas huffed out a laugh. "I practically jumped you. There was no reluctance on my part. Promise."

"But you were so young," Gabriel was still whispering, as though it hurt to talk too loud. "Are you sure you knew what you wanted? Is this still what you want?"

"Gabe, stop," Cas was feeling scared again. The thought that maybe Gabriel was trying to break up with him filled him with terror, but also determination. No way was he letting his brother get out of this without a damn good reason. "You remember what I was like back then, right? Constantly strung out on drugs, drinking anything put in front of me, willing to have sex with anything that had a pulse."

"Exactly," Gabriel started. "I took advantage–"

"I wasn't finished," Cas gently admonished, tightening his hold for a moment. "Look at me then, and look at me now, with your influence. I haven't taken anything stronger than aspirin in four years. I haven't been drunk in longer. And while I enjoy having sex with you, I also enjoy simply spending time together, and I'm not trying to get laid by anyone else. You're good for me."

Gabriel lifted his head then, eyes pleading, and Cas gladly leaned forwards and kissed him, keeping it soft and gentle, not trying to go further.

"Now what brought this on?" Castiel whispered, nuzzling Gabriel's hair. It was unusual for Gabriel to feel insecure about them being together – he was the sort of man to take anything in his stride usually.

"I…" Gabriel was suddenly burying his face in Castiel's chest again, shoulders shaking.

"Something happened when you went out, didn't it?" Cas asked, somewhat redundantly. "What was it? Who upset you?"

Gabriel shook his head, and felt as tears started falling again. He hated feeling like this, feeling weak, but after what had happened… he'd fled the brothel, pausing just long enough to put his clothes back on and make sure his wallet was still there. He'd sent Kali a text from the bus station, saying that there was an emergency and he'd had to return home, and caught the first bus back. It probably would have been quicker to wait for Kali and get her to drive back with him – she tended to ignore unimportant things such as speed limits – but he couldn't face her right now. Couldn't face anyone. He didn't particularly want Cas to see him like this either, but Castiel made him feel safe.

"Gabe, please. Talk to me. I want to help."

Gabriel clutched tighter at the shirt beneath his face, trying to control his breathing. He couldn't tell Cas about what Dean had done, couldn't admit that he'd climaxed at Dean's rough treatment.

"Please. I love you. Let me in."

"Dean," Gabriel whispered finally. "I found Dean."

"What?" Castiel blinked, not having expected that. "Where? Is he okay? What–"

"He was working at the brothel," Gabriel continued quietly, forcing Castiel to be quiet and hear him out. "He's a prostitute. He… he saw the collar."

"…oh." Cas tightened his grip on Gabriel. That could explain the way Gabriel had been thinking earlier. "He got mad at you?"

Gabriel choked on a laugh. Got mad? That was an understatement if he'd ever heard one.

"He was furious," Gabriel closed his eyes, unable to look Cas in the face. "The things he said… he was so angry. He thought we abandoned him, when we didn't call. Said he needed us, and we were too busy screwing each other to help."

"He said what?" Castiel's voice had dropped into the dangerous level, and Gabriel started shaking. He'd never been afraid of Cas before, but couldn't help himself. Castiel was holding him tightly, a soft growl coming from his throat.

Noticing how scared Gabriel had suddenly become, Cas tried to calm down and comfort him. It wasn't working, he was filled with too many different emotions. He'd wondered what had happened to his first real friend for years, to find out that he was now working as a prostitute and had hurt Gabriel with his anger…

"I'll go to him," Castiel spoke after a few minutes. "I'll explain–"

"NO!" Gabriel shouted then, clinging to Castiel. "No, don't, please. Don't go to him, he's too angry. The things he said… please, he'll blame you too." Gabriel was filled with terror at the idea of Dean getting his hands on Castiel. He was barely holding himself together, he couldn't deal with it if Cas was hurt too.

"Hey, shhhh, it's okay," Cas was stroking his hair again, trying to soothe him. "It's okay. If it's that important, I won't go to him yet. We'll wait a while. Maybe if we call him in a few weeks, he might be able to speak to us."

Gabriel was trembling, shaking his head, and Castiel was at a loss as to what to do. So he fell back on a tried and proven method, tilting Gabriel's head back a little to kiss him. Gabriel froze for a moment, then slowly started to relax as Castiel didn't press for more.

They kissed for several minutes, before Gabriel shifted for a better angle. Now they were lying chest-to-chest, and Castiel was getting seriously turned on by the gentle, submissive behaviour Gabriel was displaying. He tried not to pressure Gabriel, but it was obvious when his older brother noticed his arousal.

Gabriel froze again, pulling away slightly and breathing hard. He knew Castiel wouldn't hurt him, knew that he was safe in his apartment, but a large part of him wanted to run away.

"Gabe, I know you're scared," Castiel leaned forwards and kissed Gabriel's cheek. "I don't know why, and I'm not sure how to make things better. Just tell me what you want me to do. Promise, I'll follow any instructions. Even if you just want to lie here and watch a movie. I want you to be happy. Let me make you happy?"

Gabriel looked down at Cas, at the bright blue eyes that had haunted his fantasies for over a decade. He reached up and gently traced a hand over Castiel's features, running his thumb across lips that were so good at both comforting him and winding him up. Castiel kept still, his arms loosely wrapped around Gabriel's waist, letting his brother regain his composure.

"I want…" he swallowed hard, then rocked his hips forwards, willing himself erect. It didn't take much effort with Castiel willing and eager beneath him. "I want you. Here, like this."

"Okay," Castiel was smiling up at him, rubbing his back and shifting his own hips to meet Gabriel's rocking thrusts. "It's been a while since we tried it here. Shall I fetch–"

"No," Gabriel immediately stopped and clung to Castiel tighter. "No, don't go."

"Hey, Gabe, it's okay," Castiel whispered into his ear, kissing it gently. "I'm not leaving, I promise. Just thought we might want some lube. It's okay."

"I'm sorry," Gabriel whispered, making Castiel shake his head.

"No, stop that. I'll be fine, just let me find…" He trailed off as he reached one hand around the side of the couch, fumbling for his backpack. He was fairly certain that he had something in there that would do. "Aha! Gotcha. Salad dressing that was too oily. It'll do."

"Cas–"

"Gabriel, shut up and fuck me."

At that, Gabriel finally let out a small smile, which Castiel counted as a major victory. They made quick work of their clothes, making sure not to stray too far from each other, then lay back down. Castiel had always been rather flexible, which Gabriel loved to test at any opportunity, and it allowed them to have sex while facing each other more easily than was usual.

Gabriel took his time preparing Castiel, more thorough than he usually was, and Cas was a panting, quivering mess beneath him by the time Gabriel decided that he was stretched enough. The impromptu lube was slightly unpleasant, but it did the job, and soon Gabriel had set a steady, gentle pace. Castiel whined in the back of his throat, used to things being a little rougher between them, and managed to wrap his legs around Gabriel's upper chest.

Gabriel, however, was determined to keep things gentle. He captured one of Castiel's hands and entwined their fingers together as they made love, knowing that it was hopelessly sappy and not caring in the slightest. He was trying to atone for every mark he'd ever left on his brother, whether it had been enjoyed or not. Realising that he was crying again, Gabriel buried his face in the side of Castiel's neck, and prayed for the first time in years. He prayed that he hadn't ruined Castiel, that he would be forgiven for loving his little brother, that he was doing the right thing in trying to keep Castiel away from Dean. Gabriel knew that it was screwed up, praying whilst balls-deep in Castiel, but he didn't care right then. He just needed this.

Reaching between them, he stroked Castiel gently but firmly, moving his hand in the way he'd learned was perfect for getting Cas off. Soon enough, Castiel was clenching around him, whispering Gabriel's name as he came over his hand. A few thrusts later and Gabriel was following him, sobbing his release, telling Cas he loved him over and over again.

They lay together for several minutes, before Cas shifted to lower his legs. Gabriel nuzzled his neck one last time, then stood up and tugged Castiel into the bathroom. He did most of the work of cleaning them up, even when Castiel tried to help, then the pair retreated to the bedroom and curled up together. Gabriel felt sleep claim him quite quickly, exhausted as he was from the emotional toll the last twenty four hours had taken on him.

Castiel, however, stayed awake. He ran his hand through Gabriel's hair, thinking hard. Ever since going clean, he'd been a little paranoid, though his thought processes were much clearer. Most people still considered him weird, but he didn't care. He often had insights and viewpoints that other people didn't even consider, and right now he knew that there was more to Gabriel's little meltdown than harsh words from someone they used to care about.

Something had happened between Gabriel and Dean, and Castiel needed to find out what it was. He'd keep his promise and not search Dean out immediately – Gabriel needed him right now – but as soon as he had a couple of days free, he was going to hunt down his old friend to have a few words with him.

No one hurt Castiel's big brother and got away with it, not even Dean.

-MWM-

It was a couple of weeks later, and Dean was trying to forget what he'd done to Gabriel. He was drinking whenever he wasn't working, and if it weren't for the little blue pills he probably wouldn't be able to work. Danni had tried to talk to him, only to have the door shut in her face. Dean wasn't talking to anyone, for any reason, not even Crowley. Everyone was worried about him.

So when a young man with bright blue eyes showed up at the Red Moon House looking for Dean, saying that he'd been friends with him as children and had finally found him, the girl working reception decided to take a chance and gave him Dean's address. No one else was getting through to him, it was time for drastic measures.

Castiel smiled thinly as he jogged the steps to Dean's apartment. From little hints he'd managed to pry out of Gabriel, he'd figured out that he and Dean had had sex, and it was during this that Dean had found out about Gabe and Castiel's relationship. That damn collar… he'd thought it was such a good idea at the time, had needed to show Gabriel who he belonged to. He'd never realised that it could cause so much trouble.

He wasn't mad about Gabriel having sex with Dean – Gabe had insisted that he hadn't recognised him at first, and Cas had told him to sleep with a male. Castiel was furious that Dean had done something to hurt Gabriel though. Whatever he'd said had shaken Gabriel so badly that he still had trouble touching Cas.

Finally reaching the right door, Castiel knocked and waited. He could hear someone stumbling around inside, and what sounded like bottles being knocked over. His insides clenched as the thirst came back for a moment, before he focused on his rage instead.

The door swung open, and Castiel's breath caught in his throat. This was Dean, no doubt about it. He was taller, sure, more muscled, but his face hadn't changed that drastically. And he was wearing the same lost, hurt expression that he'd had the first time they'd met.

"Cas…" Dean whispered, apparently recognising him as well. At least that would mean he'd know why Castiel was here.

"Dean," Castiel growled, before punching him in the gut. He was a little surprised at how much muscle his fist connected with, but not as surprised as Dean was. Hunched over a little, he was now at the perfect height for Castiel to punch him in the jaw. So he did.

"Cas, what the fuck?"

"You bastard," Castiel pushed him back, following him into the apartment and slamming the door shut. "You think you're the only one fucked over by life? Newsflash: We're all fate's bitches!"

Dean swung back at him then, and the two were suddenly brawling as they never had before. Cas shoved Dean so that he fell over the coffee table, breaking it in two, only to jump back as a foot lashed out at knee-height. Dean was up again the next second, tackling him and knocking the wind out of him.

Cas brought his elbow down on the back of Dean's neck, making him let go, then jumped at him again. This time Dean caught him in mid-air and pushed him against the wall, pinning him there with their bodies flush against each other.

The two fell still, panting, anger and disappointment, regrets and apologies hovering unspoken in the air between them as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Castiel," Dean whispered again, and it was so familiar that Cas couldn't help himself. He lunged forwards again, this time to capture Dean's lips with his own. Dean apparently had no problem with this, and instead used one hand to angle Castiel's head better while the other slipped inside Cas' pants to caress his arse.

Dean was felt as though the last ten years just melted away. He had Castiel back in his arms, they were kissing as though they never needed to breathe, and they were rutting together like the horny teenagers they had been.

Without pausing to think things through, Dean suddenly leaned back and peeled his t-shirt off. Castiel blinked for a moment, then grinned and followed suit. He fell to his knees then, undoing Dean's belt and fly, remembering this as though it had been yesterday that they'd been thrusting together into Cas' hand.

"Cas…" Dean groaned as he threaded his hands through Castiel's hair and tugged him forwards. They both had more experience now, and Cas was working his dick like an expert. Knowing what he really wanted, dean leant forwards and tugged Castiel's hips up so that he was now on all fours, and sucked on his own fingers before sliding his hand back into Cas' pants and finding his arsehole.

Cas moaned around him as Dean worked his finger inside of him, the way not helped much by the saliva, but neither of them cared. They'd waited too long for this to be put off by a lack of supplies.

Soon, Castiel undid his own pants and shimmied out of them, allowing Dean easier access. Dean took full advantage of this, and continued to stretch him open, listening to the way Cas hummed and groaned as he moved his fingers. His memory hadn't been lying – Cas' mouth was still magical, and he still ignored his gag reflex like a pro.

_Dean, stop this–_

Dean blinked as his mind threw echoes of Gabriel's pleading at him, then tried to ignore it. He had three fingers working in and out of Castiel now, and the smaller man was sucking him eagerly. Feeling that he was now loose enough, Dean pulled away and tugged Castiel roughly to his feet. He then shoved him against the wall again, and Castiel grinned at him, reaching out his arms.

Lifting Castiel wasn't difficult. For a moment it was difficult to find the right angle to slide into him, but then Cas reached down and guided him in. The two let out simultaneous groans as gravity helped to pull Castiel until Dean was firmly seated inside him. Cas wrapped his arms and legs around Dean then, and they started moving together.

_Please, you're hurting me._

Dean continued to ignore the sounds of Gabriel's distress in his mind. Castiel was arching against him, a steady litany of 'more, harder, please' falling from his lips, and Dean was only too happy to oblige. He knew that he was being rough, thrusting hard into his childhood friend, but Castiel's cries of pleasure kept coming.

It was better than anything he'd imagined. Castiel was responsive to his touches, clenching his inner muscles to stimulate him, and quite vocal about what he wanted. Apparently, what he wanted was simply Dean.

_Please Dean, stop this!_

Dean growled at the memory, then latched onto Castiel's neck, biting down and sucking hard as he increased the rhythm of his thrusts. This simply drew a louder moan from Cas, and before he realised it, they were both climaxing, kissing sloppily in an effort to keep from shouting.

When he felt he could trust his legs again, Castiel unwrapped them and wriggled a little, causing Dean to slid out of him and lower him back to the ground. Both men were still breathing hard, and then Dean was kissing him again, over and over, hands roaming his skin again. Castiel couldn't help but respond, wanting to just stay in this moment forever.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: This was originally meant to end a little over 10,000 words from here. I think I'll be going over the goal. And apparently shameless begging gets me reviews. Who'd've thunk it?

Cas finds out exactly what happened. He's not impressed.

Warnings: Language, mentions of rape, incest, drug abuse and prostitution. Also, Dean's a dick.

-MWM-

Dean was sitting against his wall, Cas next to him with his legs across Dean's lap. They couldn't stop touching each other, and hadn't bothered to put their clothes back on. Castiel knew that he should be mad a Dean still, should be finding out what it was that had happened between him and Gabriel, but he felt too happy to risk spoiling it.

He'd missed Dean for the last ten years, had done all sorts of stupid things trying to get over losing him, and to have him back was intoxicating. They laughed at old jokes, spoke of anything that happened before Cas and Gabriel went to New York, and avoided speaking of anything that had happened since they last saw each other.

Castiel ran a hand over Dean's jaw, which was already bruising. They both had several bruises from their fight, apparently they'd both learned how to fight. Dean lifted his hand and covered Cas', then turned his head and pressed a kiss to his palm.

They were doing what they'd always done when they didn't want to deal with the world – they were building their own safe haven, just the two of them, and ignoring everything else. There would be time enough to deal with reality later, for now they just needed to be together, and Cas leaned forwards to drag Dean in for another kiss. Never mind that their lips were already swollen and bruised, they were addicted to each other again and didn't care.

The sound of a ringing phone broke into their solitude, and Castiel groaned. He crawled over to where his jacket had dropped, fishing his phone out of the pocket. He could feel Dean watching him, and jumped a little as a hand caressed the back of his thigh. Shooting Dean a grin, he looked at the caller ID, and froze.

It was Gabriel.

Suddenly Cas felt as though he couldn't breathe. What had he done? He'd come here to talk to Dean, to yell at him, to fight him for hurting Gabriel, and instead he'd fallen straight into Dean's arms. Well, maybe not straight away, but still. Gabriel deserved better than that.

He swallowed hard, then flipped the phone open.

"Gabe, hey."

The hand caressing him stopped moving, and he could hear Dean's breath catch in his throat.

"_Cas, where are you? I'm at Kali's now, she says you never even suggested going over to her place."_

"I'm, ah…"

"_Don't you dare lie to me, Castiel. Where are you?"_

"I'm with Dean."

He could hear the heavy breathing from the other end of the phone, as Gabriel tried to get his emotions under control.

"I just… I needed to see him, needed to find out what happened."

"_Did he hurt you_?" Gabriel sounded on the verge of a meltdown again, and Castiel felt like utter shit. _"Did he… Cas, please don't let him…"_ He trailed off, and Castiel heard a choked-back sob._ "I'm too late, aren't I?"_

"Gabriel, please talk to me," Castiel whispered, standing and moving out of Dean's reach. "What's going on?"

"_He… Cas, he…"_ Gabriel forced out a laugh, which was painful to hear._ "I can't even say it. He was the prostitute at the Red Moon House, and while we were… he…"_

Cas felt as though his world had been knocked off its axis as the pieces fell into place. Gabriel not wanting to be touched, flinching when Cas mentioned sex, being so insecure, insisting that Castiel not find Dean…

"He raped you." It was a statement, and he could hear Gabriel's laboured breathing.

"_Cas, please… it's why I didn't want you to go there, if he hurts you…"_

"I'm going to kill him, and then I'm coming home. I'll see you tonight. I love you, Gabriel."

"_Love you too."_

Castiel flipped the phone shut and stared at it, trying to control himself. All he could see, however, was Gabriel's shattered look when he'd returned from his trip. He turned around to look at Dean, and the younger man flinched away from him.

Dean swallowed hard and struggled to stand. Cas had murder in his eyes, and he knew he needed to explain everything, and fast.

"Cas, please, let me explain–"

"Did Gabriel beg you?" Cas spoke over him, shaking with fury. "Did he beg you to listen to him? Did you give him a chance, or did you just decide that your version of events had to be the true one?"

Castiel was walking closer, his voice lowered to where it was almost indistinguishable from a growl.

"He was wearing a collar with your name on it!" Dean tried to point out. "Cas, he's your brother! He's screwed you up if you think–"

"He saved me!" Cas shouted, flying at Dean again, trying to get his hands around Dean's neck. Dean grappled with him for a moment, before managing to pin Castiel's arms to his sides and hold him still. "Dean, I was whoring myself out for drugs, I slept with anyone who'd give me a hit! He took me away from that, forced me to clean myself up."

"He's fucking you, isn't he?" Dean was struggling to keep hold of Castiel.

"Because I jumped him!" Cas spat. "He didn't want to at first, he thought he was sick or something. It took me going on another bender for him to give in and let me love him! He's the reason I'm not dead in a ditch somewhere for pissing off a drug dealer."

Dean finally managed to wrestle Cas onto the couch and lay on top of him, pinning him with his greater weight.

"Castiel, listen to me. You're in a sexual relationship with your brother, surely you see how this would worry me? Hell, it'd worry anyone! Does anyone else know about the two of you?"

"Kali," Castiel glared. "She's the one we go to if we need to vent about the other as a boyfriend."

"Right. One person," Dean was still battling to keep Castiel in one place. "And this doesn't tell you anything? Such as, society in general is going to assume that he's been taking advantage of you for years?"

"He hasn't!" Castiel yelled, fighting renewed at the reminder. Gabriel had said that he was taking advantage when he'd had his meltdown. "And even if he had, how does that excuse you raping him?"

"It doesn't," Dean admitted. "But I wanted to punish him for taking you away from me!"

Cas froze at that, looking up with wide eyes.

"Taking me… Dean, you're the one who left."

"Because I had no one to help me," he whispered, lowering his head gently to rest his forehead on Castiel's shoulder. "You weren't answering your phone, neither was Gabriel. After Dad was killed, when the nurses said they'd have to call CPS… I had no one. I just knew I had to take care of Sammy."

"How'd that turn out?" Cas muttered. He wasn't forgiving Dean, he just… he needed to know.

"He's at Stanford," Dean smiled briefly. "Got into pre-law. My boss, Crowley, is paying for it. Paying for his apartment too… and this one. He's taken care of me."

There was silence for a few minutes, before Castiel gently pushed at Dean's chest again.

"Dean, get off me."

Reluctantly he did, and Cas quickly got up, slipping back into his clothes.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," Cas refused to look at him. "Dean, I think I can understand why you hurt Gabriel – I've done some pretty stupid things when I thought I was alone. But I can't forgive you for it. And I don't think Gabriel can either. So even though last time it was circumstances… this time I'm making the decision to leave."

He finished dressing and started walking out of the door. Dean tried to catch hold of him, to keep him and make him stay, but Cas was faster and easily sidestepped him.

"Stay away from us," Castiel whispered, before walking out of Dean's apartment.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: A short one, with a bitch of a cliff-hanger. Let's see if I can do the next chapter before I leave on holiday tomorrow. If not… I'll be back in about a week.

Warnings: Major angst, attempted suicide.

-MWM-

When Castiel got home, he found a note saying that Gabriel was out getting pizza. So he went straight to the bathroom and got in the shower, hot water as high as he could handle in an attempt to wash away the feeling of Dean touching him. He was furious with himself for giving in to his nostalgia and possibly hurting Gabriel even more than he had been. Because yes, he'd given Gabriel permission to screw a prostitute, but Cas had been unfaithful. He hadn't slept with anyone other than Gabriel since they'd decided to make their relationship exclusive shortly after they started having sex with each other, and he was certain that Gabriel hadn't either. They were both too possessive of the other. After everything that had happened, he wasn't sure if Gabriel was going to accept him back or throw him out – and he really wouldn't be able to hold it against him if he chose the latter option.

After several minutes, he heard the bathroom door open, and Gabriel stepped into the shower with him. The older brother slid his arms around Castiel's waist and leant his head on the taller man's shoulder, enjoying the spray of water falling on them both. Cas adjusted the temperature a little, so that it wouldn't scald Gabriel's skin, then wrapped his brother in a hug. He really didn't want this to be the last time Gabriel let them touch each other.

"Gabriel… I'm so sorry," Cas whispered, needing to come clean. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know," Gabriel started stroking his back gently. "I've always known that if you and Dean met again, the two of you would fall into bed. But you came back to me…"

"Yeah," Cas tightened his arms around Gabriel. "You've been taking the fall for both of us for so long, picking up the pieces and taking the blame. You gave up the chance of finding a normal relationship for me. I know you love me, but you never would have done anything if I hadn't been so messed up. You never got into drugs or alcohol, not to excess, but you're the one who keeps getting hurt. I'm so sorry."

Gabriel didn't answer for a moment, instead running his fingers gently over the multitude of bruises Castiel had managed to pick up over the course of the day. Some looked like the marks of rough sex, but others…

"You fought him," Gabriel said, shocked. "You actually…"

"He hurt you," Castiel shrugged easily. "I fought him, it… turned into sex, then I found out exactly what he did to you and I tried to kill him again. He managed to explain his version of events, then I walked out. I told him to stay away from us."

"You fought him for me," Gabriel was smiling now, as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You fought for my honour. That's so…"

"Yeah, I know. It's more than you've ever done."

"Hey!"

The two stayed under the water for a while, just enjoying the fact that they were able to hold each other. For the first time in weeks, Gabriel felt as though things were going to be okay – he'd broken down, true, but this time Castiel had been the one picking up the pieces. And he'd done a pretty good job of it. While Gabriel had never been particularly violent, he could appreciate the idea of someone fighting to keep him safe.

"My knight in tarnished armour," Gabriel started stroking Castiel's lower back, every now and then running a hand over his backside. He could feel Cas starting to harden against him, and knew he was doing the same.

"I like the sound of that," Cas muttered, moving slightly to start pressing kisses to Gabriel's throat and shoulders. It seemed like he hadn't screwed up their relationship, and he wanted to reassure himself that Gabriel wasn't going anywhere without him. "Gabe?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's go to bed."

"Hmm… Okay."

They dried themselves off quickly, and didn't bother re-dressing. Gabriel made a detour through the kitchen, putting the pizza into the fridge for later, and then joined his brother in bed. Castiel welcomed Gabriel with open arms, and allowed him to take control as he was wont to do. Gabriel was starting to come back to himself, and didn't seem so scared of breaking his brother, which gladdened Castiel to no end.

-MWM-

Dean sat on the floor next to the couch and broken coffee table, staring at nothing. He'd ruined everything.

Sam was ashamed of him, refused to bring any of his friends back home, and managed to wriggle out of Dean coming to visit. He'd been dating the same girl for the last three years, and Dean hadn't even met her. Hell, he wasn't even sure that the girl knew he existed. Why would Sam want Dean to meet any of his friends anyway? Little Sammy was long gone, and Sam was going to be a successful lawyer. He didn't need his big brother, and he sure didn't need said big brother to be a male prostitute. It would just embarrass him.

Dean had raped Gabriel. Even if it was consensual to begin with, he should have stopped the first time Gabriel had asked him to. And the fact that he was deliberately trying to hurt the older man… Dean knew that he'd messed up big time, and it was unlikely he'd ever get a chance to atone for that. Gabriel deserved more than that, after all the times he'd stood up for Dean and Cas when they were kids, all the times Gabby had taken care of them or taken the fall for something they'd done, Dean should have been happy to see him, should have tried to be friends again. Shouldn't have wanted to hurt him.

And Castiel… how he missed him already. One taste wasn't enough, he already craved more. They'd been so close once, people had thought them telepathic. Now, the distance between them was too much to bear, and while Cas had tried to bridge the gap, Dean had only widened it with his stupid, selfish impulses.

If only he'd let Gabriel explain earlier… if only he'd been able to control himself… if only he'd gone to find Cas all those years ago instead of running… if only…

Reaching to one side, Dean found the bottle of scotch he'd been drinking earlier. There was still some left, and he swallowed it down easily. But the action only reminded him of what Gabriel had said, about Cas being hooked on drugs and alcohol, Castiel's words about whoring himself out for a hit. It had sounded like Cas had been more screwed up by their separation than Dean was, but he'd managed to come through it okay, thanks to Gabriel. And now Dean had broken Gabriel.

Dean threw the bottle at the wall then, tears falling as he realised what a fuck-up he really was. Why would Cas want to stay with him? Why would Gabriel want to ever see him again? Why would Sam want to have him in his life?

There were more empty bottles lying around the living room, and Dean threw them all at the walls, now screaming his frustration and grief. It was too much, he couldn't take this, he wasn't strong enough.

He collapsed onto the ground, glass shards cutting into his still-naked skin. There was a large shard right next to his hand, and he stared at it for several minutes, before picking it up. It cut his fingers easily, blood flowing rich and red, and he wondered… why not? What did he have to keep going for?

It was easier than he'd thought, to bring the shard slashing down diagonally across his wrist. Doing the other wrist was harder, the glass kept slipping in his blood-covered hands, but he managed it, and lay down to accept his fate.

There was a pounding from somewhere, and shouting, but he didn't bother answering.

He wasn't worth saving.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Decided to be nice and post the next chapter before I leave. Don't know how much will get written this coming week, but after I'll have a week of work recuperating from an operation, so should get plenty of writing done then.

Warnings: Suicide attempt and lots of angst.

-MWM-

"Sam, are you sure about this? Maybe it should just be you visiting him…" Jess trailed off. She'd been bugging Sam to introduce her to his brother for the past three years, wanting to know more about the man who had done so much for his family.

However, Sam had been unable to reach Dean for the last four weeks, so had decided that the pair of them should drive all the way down to physically check on him. Jess wasn't sure that Dean would want to meet her like this, but Sam had insisted.

"It'll be fine, we just–" Sam halted as they both heard it. Smashing glass, and screaming. Sam started running, recognising the voice as Dean, suddenly fearing for his brother. Jess was running behind him, not knowing but willing to follow him.

"Dean!" Sam shouted, banging on the apartment door. "Dean, open up!"

It was quite behind the door now, and somehow that just made Sam feel worse.

"Dean, it's Sammy! Open the door!"

Nothing. Sam fumbled with his keys, trying to find the right one, before remembering that the key for this apartment was on his other keychain. Growling, he threw himself at the door, needing to get to his brother.

After a few hits, the door gave way, and Sam was met with an image taken straight from his nightmares.

The apartment was a mess, broken bottles against the walls, broken and overturned furniture all over the room. Curled up against the opposite wall was Dean, naked and covered in cuts and bruises, slowly bleeding from gashes in his wrists.

"Dean!" Sam was by his side in seconds, ignoring the glass as he tried to stop the flow. "Jess, call–"

"I need an ambulance, and police. My friend's cut his wrists, his apartment's been trashed." Sam shot Jess a grateful look, she was already calling for help, allowing him to focus on Dean.

"Dean, please, look at me," he pleaded, but Dean's vacant stare wasn't connecting. He let out a sob, not knowing what to do or how to help. "Please don't die," he whispered. "You can't leave, please. I'm sorry."

-MWM-

Sam hated hospitals.

He'd avoided them after his dad died, and now he was sitting next to Dean's bed, waiting for him to wake up. The cops had already interviewed him and Jess, confirming that there had been a fight. It had taken hours for the doctors to get all of the glass shards out of Dean's skin, stitching up several bad cuts. They had done a further check, and Sam was slightly relieved to know that although he was heavily bruised in places, Dean didn't appear to have been sexually assaulted. It had been at the front of his mind, finding him naked and broken like that.

Jess had been a saint, sitting next to him without crowding him, dealing with the doctors and their technical terminology, and shooing people away as soon as Sam started to get upset again. He reached out and held her hand, fingers brushing against the engagement ring on her finger. She was perfect, and he couldn't do this without her.

Dean had been back from surgery only a few minutes when Crowley showed up, intimidating the doctors into giving Dean the best room and treatment possible. Sam was fairly sure he'd never forget the way Jess had stood up to Crowley, keeping him out of the room until Sam recognised who it was.

"Sammy," Crowley nodded. "Perfect timing in getting back."

"Coincidence," Sam muttered, not taking his eyes from his brother. "Dean hasn't returned my calls in weeks, I wanted him to meet Jess so we drove down for a visit."

"You're Jess, I take it?" Crowley turned to the woman who'd stood up to him, and she nodded, eyes still suspicious. "Charmed, I'm sure." He then looked back at Dean, who was heavily sedated and fast asleep. "Since you haven't spoken to him, I'll wager you don't have any idea what set him off either."

"Not a clue," Sam shrugged. "If I'd come down sooner…"

"Sam, stop," Jess interrupted then. "Maybe you could have done something, maybe he just would have tried after you'd gone. Focus on what's happening now."

"I like her," Crowley smiled a little. "When's the wedding?"

"How did you–"

"He knows everything that happens in mine and Dean's lives," Sam sighed. Then he lifted his head and looked at Crowley. "Do you know why he tried this?"

"Not really," Crowley admitted as he took a seat. "About three weeks ago, he stopped talking to everyone. Crawled inside a bottle and refused to come out except to work. I was about to insist he go see a shrink, now I'm not letting him come back to work until he does. Idiotic little shit that he is."

Sam could hear the worry and affection in Crowley's words, and didn't take issue with him.

-MWM-

It had been four days, and Dean still wasn't responding. He was awake, but seemed unable to reconnect with the world. He sometimes twitched when Sam was near, his eyes sometimes swam into focus, but that was it.

Sam was about ready to pull his hair out. He wanted his big brother back.

"Sammy?"

Sam turned at the voice, confused, then his eyes widened. Standing in the doorway were two figures straight out of their past – Castiel and Gabriel.

"Guys…" Sam was across the room in seconds, pulling both of them into a hug. "My god, how did you… where have you… I don't…"

"Mmmmph mmm hmm," Gabriel exaggeratedly mumbled from where he was being crushed in Sam's giant arms. Sam gave a final squeeze before letting them both go, looking from one to the other in shock.

"Air! How wonderful to breathe again," Gabriel was taking deep breaths in an attempt to hide how anxious he was. Even if Dean was unresponsive and tied down, he was still a wary about being in the same room.

"Sammy," Castiel looked up at the younger man. "I think you doubled in height."

"Yeah," Sam grinned a little, still blind-sided from seeing them again. "How did you guys know we were here? We haven't seen you in, what… ten years?"

Gabriel and Castiel looked at each other briefly. So Dean hadn't told Sam anything about them.

"Uh, Sammy…" Gabriel paused, then decided to keep going. "When's the last time you and Dean had a long conversation?"

"A few weeks ago," Sam shrugged, looking down guiltily. "We haven't been close for a couple of years now. It's kinda difficult studying and keeping up with Dean, especially since he works… nights." The brothers could tell that Sam had been going to say something else, but had thought better of it.

"I met up with Dean about three weeks ago," Gabriel decided to fill him in. "While he was working. We… we fought. He was angry, and did something stupid, that really hurt me."

"You know about his job?" Sam winced, and Gabriel nodded. Sam sighed, the guilt coming back full force. "He… he started out cleaning there when we first got here. Then he became a bouncer. When I got accepted to Stanford… he took out a loan from his boss to pay the fees, and became a prostitute to pay it off."

"Ouch," Gabriel frowned in sympathy. So that was how Dean had gone downhill.

"Yeah. He was doing okay though, until… I think until he saw you," Sam was putting the dates together in his head, slightly confused. "I guess everything must have caught up with him, seeing someone from our past. And yeah, he never really got over you guys not being there when Dad died."

"But you did?" Castiel joined the conversation then. He'd been watching Dean, who looked like he was still asleep.

"I was pretty young," Sam shrugged. "And I wasn't as close to either of you. I had Dean to take care of me. It hurt when he said that you guys weren't talking to him, but I got over it."

"Good to know," Castiel nodded. It made sense, though it still hurt a little – if Dean had reacted to their reappearance the way Sam did, this all would have been much different.

For one, Cas would probably have to choose between his current lover and his first boyfriend.

"So if Dean was a dick to you," Sam looked at Gabriel, "how'd you know he was here?"

"We didn't," Gabriel looked uncomfortable. "But a few days ago, Cas came down to have it out with him over what Dean had said to me. Apparently they got in an actual fight that ended with some broken furniture and Cas walking out again."

"How many days ago?" Sam's eyes were wide, and Castiel winced. He'd already put the pieces together.

"Four days," Cas said softly. "He must have decided to kill himself shortly after I left."

Sam backed away and sat down heavily. This was too much to wrap his brain around. There was more to both sides of the story, he was sure, but for now the basics were doing his head in.

"We came back today to try sorting it out," Gabriel continued. "I couldn't leave things as they were between us. Figured that he'd had some time to calm down, maybe we could talk. But when we got to the apartment…"

"One of his neighbours said that he was in hospital," Castiel took over. "Said that there'd been a break-in and he'd been assaulted, then tried to kill himself. Guess that wasn't entirely correct, I might have assaulted him but I didn't break in."

"It looked like the truth," Sam whispered. "I found him. He was lying naked on the floor, surrounded by broken glass… he'd used a shard to slit his wrists… the room was a mess."

Castiel winced, guilt flooding through him. Gabriel saw the look on his face and moved behind him, gently scratching at Castiel's hairline with his fingers in a soothing gesture.

Sam watched the two brothers interacting. Something wasn't right, he just couldn't put his finger on it. Then one part of it fell into place – Gabriel was refusing to look at Dean, and Cas was staying between the two at all times, as though protecting Gabriel. It didn't make sense, but then nothing about the entire situation made sense.

The three men were silent for a while after that, the situation robbing them all of any outside thoughts.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: I think things might be a little too neat in this one… let me know if things seem to be going too fast. In good news – Gabriel decides to push the threesome idea, even if he's still having issues.

Also… I've started writing another horrible, dark story that started with one of the Angelic Shenanigans one-shots – the Lucifer/Castiel one. *whimper* Help! The fics are taking over!

Warnings: …don't think there's anything explicit in this chapter. References to past actions, that's about it.

-MWM-

The next time Dean opened his eyes, he saw something that shocked him back to reality. He was looking up into the clearest blue eyes he'd seen in his life, and knew it was Castiel watching him. He tried to sit up, only to find that his wrists were restrained.

"Wha… what's going on?" Dean rasped, voice scratchy. Castiel raised an eyebrow at him, then sat back, arms folded across his chest.

"You're an idiot," Castiel said simply, restrained venom in his voice.

"Cas," a voice warned, and Dean looked over. To his shock, it was Gabriel, leaning against the wall next to the door. He wasn't looking at Dean, but the fact that he was here at all…

"Gabriel," Dean whispered. "Oh god, I can't…" It felt as though his throat was closing up, and something sitting on his chest. His heart was beating far too quickly, and the machines were beeping ever more rapidly.

"Shit," Gabriel swore before ducking out of the room. Clearly him being there wasn't a good idea, if the mere sight of him was enough to drive Dean into a panic attack. The idea had been to face him and help Gabriel get over what had happened – but apparently Dean was just as affected as he was. He went and informed the nurse of what was happening, deciding to hang around the waiting room for a few minutes before heading back. Perhaps that would give Dean time to calm down.

Once the nurse had given Dean a sedative, he calmed again fairly rapidly. Castiel waited until they were alone before stepping forwards and sitting on the edge of the bed. The two stared at each other for a while, neither really knowing what to say.

"I'm so sorry," Dean finally whispered, breaking the gaze and staring down at his hands. "I realised how bad I'd screwed up, how much I'd hurt Gabriel, and just… I couldn't handle knowing that I'd done that. He deserves better than that, I should've… god, I don't know. I should've had more trust in the both of you."

"Yes, you should have," Castiel agreed, though the venom had drained away. Now he just felt empty, which was never a good thing – he had always filled the hole with drugs or booze, or in more recent years, sex with Gabriel. "Gabe's been good for me, helped me find balance again. I know that screwing my brother isn't exactly socially acceptable, but neither is what you're doing."

"I know," Dean whispered, closing his eyes against the tears that were threatening. He was not going to cry, damnit! He was stronger than this! But he couldn't look at Castiel without knowing the truth – he wasn't strong anymore. Hadn't been for a long time. "I just… I love you. I always did."

Castiel leaned forwards and pressed his lips to Dean's. He couldn't stop himself, he was addicted to Dean again.

"I love Gabriel," he whispered against Dean's lips. "He's my world. But you…" He pressed down again, aware that he shouldn't be doing this, shouldn't be giving in to his addictions, but unable to fight it.

He jumped then, when he felt another pair of lips on the nape of his neck, familiar and warm, arms going around his waist.

"Gabriel," he broke away from Dean, who would probably be panicking again if not for the sedatives, and turned to look at his brother. "I–"

He was cut off as Gabriel captured him in a kiss, knowing exactly how to shut Castiel's mind down and reduce him to a moaning pile of want. Gabriel pushed him back until he was lying across Dean's chest, giving Dean a perfect view, then broke the kiss and steeled his nerves.

"Since we're all equally screwed up," he started as though it were the most natural thing in the world even as his heart was threatening to break through his ribs, "might I suggest a triad?"

With that, he turned his head and pressed his lips briefly to Dean's. It took a few seconds for the youngest to realise what was being suggested and start kissing back. Him being restrained to the bed helped Gabriel feel secure enough to put himself on the line like this, and he dominated the kiss easily. He soon felt Castiel nipping at his neck and let out a chuckle, shifting to quickly peck at Cas' lips before stepping back completely to admire his handiwork.

Dean was looking confused but hopeful. Castiel, on the other hand, was looking over the freaking moon, and Gabriel knew that he was doing the right thing for the moment. If he'd made Cas choose between them, there was a very real possibility that he'd lose his little brother. And it was clear that he couldn't just ignore the attraction between the younger men, since every time they were left alone together they started snogging again.

As for him and Dean… that kiss had been a good start. He'd been outside the door longer than they'd realised, and had heard how shaken up Dean was by what he'd done. If he was truly that remorseful, and was willing to give Gabriel time to adjust to him… well, Gabriel would learn to deal with it, even if it would be a while before he felt comfortable doing anything else physical with him. And honestly, being in a threesome relationship really wasn't the weirdest thing he'd done.

-MWM-

When Sam came back with Jess, it was to a much more relaxed atmosphere than he'd left. Dean was still restrained, but Castiel was sitting on the bed next to him, legs across Dean's and half curled into him, as though the last ten years had never happened. Gabriel was sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed, scribbling away in a notebook. Sam was fairly sure that the bed wasn't actually big enough to fit all three of them, but they seemed to be comfortable.

"Hey Sammy," Dean whispered, and Sam ran to hug him. "Down boy, it's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Sam repeated incredulously. "Dean, you tried to kill yourself! I thought… I thought you were gone! Don't you dare tell me it's not serious!"

"Okay then, I won't," Dean nodded. "I'm sorry for scaring you. I just… Sammy, are you ashamed of me?"

"What?" Sam blinked at him. "Why would you think that?"

"Uh, maybe because you haven't wanted me to visit?" Dean suggested. "'Cause you stopped coming home? 'Cause I don't know any of your friends?"

"Dean… I know that we haven't been close lately. That's why I came back," Sam motioned for Jess to come into the room from where she'd been loitering at the door. "Dean, this is Jess. Jess, this is my big brother Dean."

"Hi," Jess smiled. "I was kind of hoping to meet you under better circumstances."

"No way," Dean looked Jess up and down with a fairly obvious leer. "You are too fine for Sammy-boy."

"Can I have her then?" Gabriel raised his head. "I always wanted a pet."

"You've got Kali," Castiel informed him.

"She's going to India next month. Please?"

"No one's stealing Jess," Sam glared at the room in general, before taking a deep breath. "Dean, I… I asked her to marry me."

"And she actually said yes?" Dean looked between the two, grinning. "You sure you know what you're getting into, Sweetheart?"

"I'm sure," Jess smiled, though she did look a little perturbed by the conversation so far. "I love Sam. And while my parents aren't exactly thrilled, I don't really give a crap."

"Why wouldn't they be happy?" Dean was immediately on the defensive. "Sammy not good enough for them or something?"

"Nope," Sam shrugged. "I'm too common for their tastes. Oh, and her dad knows Crowley, and they hate each other."

"Ah. And given Crowley had a hand in raising you…"

"They're afraid that Sam's going to corrupt me," Jess finished. "Which is kinda stupid, but what can you do?"

"Elope," Gabriel suggested.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Found time to write a bit! CAB60, you picked up on the right things – they're trying, but possibly pushing themselves too far, too fast. Added to Sam's distance, there are going to be a few more meltdowns. Though things are going to start getting better.

Also, Speedfanatic is a bitch for inspiring a follow-up to the Lucifer/Castiel story, Little One. Just wanted to get that out, if I'm not posting this it's because I'm working on that one. Though it should be a little lighter… not that that would be difficult.

Warnings: Dean's potty mouth, Sammy being insensitive, dealing with issues from previous chapters.

-MWM-

"So Dean, are you ready to talk to me?"

Dean looked down at his lap. He really didn't want the hospital shrink here, but until he was cleared, he would be restrained to the bed.

"Not really," Dean muttered. "But I don't have that many options left." The man smiled briefly, encouraging him to talk, and Dean let out a sigh. "Look, can you please get rid of the restraints? I know I screwed up, you don't have to rub it in."

"Why do you think you screwed up?"

"You're kidding, right?" Dean looked at the guy, incredulous. "I drowned my sorrows in alcohol then tried to kill myself! I screwed up big time."

"So you can admit that attempting suicide was a mistake?"

"Well yeah," Dean rolled his eyes. "Things have been kinda shitty lately, and I haven't been dealing too well. But I think Sammy and the others have drilled it into my head, that I should've given them a chance to help out." Which was a load of bullshit, Dean added to himself. He was fairly sure that only something this drastic would have brought everyone back together, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. He wanted out of this hospital sometime in the next year. "I mean, things have been pretty strained between me and Sammy for a while, but if I'd told him how bad things were getting… he would've tried to help."

"Why have things been strained?" The doctor had a patient look on his face that Dean wanted to smack off. "Why haven't you been dealing well with life?"

"Because Sammy's gone off to be a lawyer, and I'm a whore," Dean spoke plainly.

"Now, being derogatory about yourself is no–"

"No seriously," Dean interrupted. "I'm a whore. People pay me to have sex with them. Mostly at the Red Moon House, but I work other places too if Crowley wants."

"Oh," the doctor blushed then, and Dean smirked. Probably a virgin. "Right. Uh, and you're… dissatisfied with your work?"

"Nope. But it's gotta be embarrassing for Sam, to have his big brother whoring himself out to pay for Sammy's college fees. This fiasco is the first time we've spoken in weeks, and we haven't had a proper conversation in months. Hadn't seen him in over a year. Hell, he's been dating the same woman for three years, proposed to her and everything, and I only met her yesterday."

Dean could hear the bitterness creeping into his own voice, but was unable to stop it. Despite Sam's protestations to the contrary, he knew that his little brother was ashamed of him.

-MWM-

"Why can't we see him?"

Sam stifled a grin as both Novak brothers were glaring at the nurse. One was bad enough, but it seemed that Gabriel and Castiel had become closer in the last several years, so when both were angry, it was usually best to hide. The nurse, however, was doing an admirable job of standing up to them.

"Mr Winchester has requested that he not have visitors today," the young woman said calmly. "He had his first session with the psychologist this morning, and it usually makes people feel unsettled for a while."

"So we should be there!" Castiel asserted. "He needs comfort, he shouldn't be alone right now."

"Doctor Edlund has decided that Mr Winchester is capable of making his own decisions, and as such, you cannot visit him at the moment." Looking over the mutinous faces in front of her, the nurse sighed. "Look, I can see where you're coming from. But he just needs a little time to deal with his emotions, that's all. Try coming back after lunch, he might feel better then."

-MWM-

He didn't feel better, but Dean reluctantly allowed them in. Castiel immediately resumed what had become his usual position, sitting next to Dean in the bed and resting his head against the taller man's shoulder. Dean managed a smile at that, being reminded that he wasn't alone. Cas wasn't going to let him go again.

Gabriel watched the play of emotions, and kept his distance. The last time Dean had been volatile hadn't ended too well for him, and even though he hated himself a little for not being able to get over it, he still chose a seat so that Sam was closer to the bed.

"Hey Dean," Sam sat close to his brother. "The nurse wouldn't let us in this morning, said you were run down from seeing the psychologist."

"Smooth, Sammy," Gabriel deadpanned as he saw Dean's minute flinch. "You have permanent foot-in-mouth disease, don't you?"

"I, uh…" Sam seemed to realise what he'd said and looked down, blushing.

Castiel grinned as he watched Gabriel and Sam interact. It was distracting enough, he hoped, that Dean would calm again. He had felt the flinch, and though he agreed that Dean needed the help, he also knew that talking about it wasn't how Dean dealt with things.

Then again, that's what got them into this situation to begin with.

After a few more stumbled sentences, Sam managed to turn back to his brother.

"So, uh… you need anything? Since apparently I can't say the right thing, maybe I could fetch and carry for you."

"Actually," Dean managed a slight smile, "the food they serve tastes like ass. There's a deli across the street, any chance…"

"Sure. You guys want something too?"

Once Sam disappeared, Cas started rubbing Dean's arm gently, fingers brushing against the bandages now and then. Gabriel gathered his courage and stepped forwards, sitting on the edge of the bed and just waiting.

"Sorry guys," Dean closed his eyes, unable to look at them. "I just… the last few weeks have been a little overwhelming. I don't think the medication's kicked in yet, Doc says I should be able to function better soon."

"Medication?" Castiel immediately stiffened, and Gabriel reached out to rub the back of his neck without thinking. He knew the connections Cas was making, after his 'self-medicating' stint.

"Yeah. He's given me anti-depressants," Dean admitted, still not opening his eyes. "And apparently I have to work on my self-esteem and trust issues."

"You wanna talk about it?" Gabriel managed to ask. "Or should we avoid the subject like the plague?"

That managed to draw a chuckle from Dean, who opened his eyes again to look at them both.

"Later. For now, I just… Gabriel, what you said yesterday. About the three of us… how would that even work?"

"Straight to the hard questions," Gabriel muttered. He then steeled himself, and took Dean's hand in his own. He could do this, he could ignore his fears. "Well… you and Cas have been a part of each other since you met. No matter what happens, you're going to be together. And I'm not really willing to give Cas up either." At this, Castiel leaned forwards and pressed a brief kiss to his lips, before pulling back and allowing Gabriel to continue. "So we have those two relationships continue. And, let's face it… there's attraction between us as well. We could make a go of it too, right?"

Dean and Cas were both staring at him, and he bit his lower lip. It had seemed like a good idea yesterday, but now… could the three of them really work together?

"Did you want me to go back to LA with you?" Dean asked, uncertain. "Or were you thinking of moving here? Or will you stay there and I stay here? Gabriel… there's a lot to consider."

"We'll figure something out," Castiel said then, and Gabriel knew that he was just as determined to make it work. "And I'd prefer it if you moved to LA with us. I want to keep you both close."

"I can't…" Dean hung his head a little. "I… Crowley owns me until Sam's debts are paid. I have to keep working for him."

He felt as both brothers stiffened at that, and flinched away from the anger he suddenly felt from them.

"Your boss forced you into this?" Castiel sounded ready to commit murder. Which, now that Dean thought about it, seemed to be his default state of being ever since they'd met again.

"No, not… exactly," Dean tried to explain. "He offered to pay for Sam and me all these years, if I'd work for him. He kept half my paycheck to cover debts, I got the rest to live on. I started as a cleaner, then a bouncer. When Sam went to Stanford, I needed so much more money, and it would have taken forever to pay it off. So, I volunteered to become a prostitute. Better pay. But I can't leave until the debt's paid off."

Gabriel was furious. He was starting to understand Dean's state of mind a bit better, and realised that it could have been worse – Dean could have done a lot more damage to him than he had. And even now, he was feeling remorse.

"So we go to Crowley," Castiel growled. "And we tell him to let you out of the deal."

"Cas…" Dean looked ready to argue, but Castiel continued speaking anyway.

"Once you're free of him, you'll come live with us. It'll be a bit crowded, but with three of us, we can start looking for somewhere bigger. Right, Gabe?"

"Right," Gabriel nodded. He then gathered his courage and moved forwards, pressing his mouth to Dean's in a gentle kiss. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was a start. "We're going to take care of each other. Got it?"

"Got it," Dean nodded, as Castiel snuggled into his side, grinning.

"Good."


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Since FFdotNet is being a wanker (or maybe it's just my connection here), you get a longish chapter again. Yay!

The smut returns later on in this one, since we haven't had that in a few chapters. Gabriel's still a little reluctant, but Dean and Cas are ready to go again. Randy buggers.

Warnings: Angst, blowjob, gay sex, voyeurism. And Crowley being a tricksy sod again.

-MWM-

That evening, Sam had gone back to Dean's apartment to start fixing the place up. Jess was staying there too, already doing her best to please her fiance's brother. At the hospital, Castiel was curled up on the bed with Dean, fast asleep while Gabriel and Dean tried to talk.

"Marketing, huh?"

"Yeah," Gabriel nodded. "It lets me run around all day, bossing people around and letting my creative side go free. We ran an event at one of the local high schools a few weeks ago… that was interesting, all those teens running around the place."

"I'll bet," Dean smiled. He could picture Gabriel doing that.

"Sometimes I'm in the ads we come up with. But usually I'm the one running the project."

"And what's Cas actually doing?" Dean glanced at the sleeping form. "Did he even finish high school?"

"Nah," Gabriel shook his head. "But there's this test I got him to take, so he's got a GED. At the moment, he's taking some courses at a community college. He's actually decided on becoming an accountant."

"Accountant?" Dean was thrown. That didn't sound at all like Cas.

"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction," Gabriel grinned. "But… he has trouble relating to people now, and he's still pretty paranoid. He tried working customer service, and couldn't deal with it. He's good with numbers though, and we figure even if he's just working a couple of days a week, in a controlled environment… he should be okay."

"Huh," Dean gently carded his hand through Castiel's hair, upset at the fresh reminder of what his friend had become.

"What about you?" Gabriel asked softly. "What would you want to do, if we managed to get you away from Crowley?"

"I… I don't know," Dean admitted. "It's never really seemed like a possibility. I don't want to get my hopes up too soon."

Gabriel recognised the signs of distress, and flipped around in his mind for something else to talk about. Sam was probably not a good idea – he'd noticed that Dean was still keeping his brother at arm's length for some reason. And they really didn't have much else to talk about yet.

"Gabriel, about… that night… I just–" Dean started, and Gabriel felt his pulse speed up. No. He wasn't going to talk about that.

"Don't," he said firmly, overriding Dean's attempt at an apology. "I heard what you said to Cas, I know how bad you feel about it. But 'sorry' isn't going to cover it, and I'd rather just not think about it."

"Okay," Dean swallowed, then reached out to rest the back of his hand against Gabriel's arm. There was plenty of room for Gabriel to move away without feeling threatened, and the older man was surprised by the understanding in the gesture. "I'll try to make things better."

"It'll take both of us," Gabriel moved his hand slowly, taking hold of Dean's and entwining their fingers. "Just… if I shy away, just give me room for a bit. Okay?"

"And you tell me if I'm pressuring you," Dean countered. "I'm so used to falling into bed with anyone, and even with the other workers, we're all physically affectionate to each other. It's ingrained now, so I probably won't pick up on the small signs."

Gabriel nodded his agreement, then shifted so that he was lying down as well, their hands still joined. He rested his head on Dean's chest, close to his brother. It took several minutes to calm down again, but it was a step – and Dean couldn't do anything without waking Castiel, who had proven that he was willing to fight to keep Gabriel safe.

-MWM-

Sam stood at the door the next morning, watching. Things were starting to make a little more sense. Dean was lying back on the bed, while both Novak brothers were cuddled into him, all three asleep.

Stepping back, Sam decided to leave things be. If anyone could save Dean from his current lifestyle, it was going to be Gabriel and Castiel. He could deal with Dean screwing them both, just as long as he wasn't getting paid to screw strangers anymore.

-MWM-

It was another week before Dean was finally cleared to leave the hospital. He had strict instructions on how to care for his wounds, and daily anti-depressants to take.

Not long after being discharged, Dean sat in Crowley's office, Cas and Gabriel sitting either side of him. Gabriel had taken over the conversation fairly quickly, while Dean just stared at his hands.

"So you want out of your contract," Crowley tilted his head to one side, looking at Dean. The young man nodded, and Crowley sighed, passing a hand over his eyes. "Wait here a moment."

He stood and rummaged through his filing cabinet for a moment, before placing a folder in front of the boys. All three looked between it and Crowley, not sure of the situation. He rolled his eyes, then placed a single piece of paper in front of Dean.

"Look, this is the breakdown of fees I've paid since taking you in. And this," he showed them another piece of paper, "is how much you've paid back."

"Wait a second," Gabriel looked at the two figures. "Dean, you've… you've paid him nearly double!"

"Exactly," Crowley sat down, smirking. "You need to keep better tabs on your debts, Dean. That," he nodded towards the folder, "is your investment portfolio."

"My what?" Dean was shocked into speaking.

"When you kept paying me after your debt was cleared, I started investing the money for you," Crowley shrugged. "That way, you'd have a decent fall-back plan if something happened and you couldn't work anymore. They've grown quite well, and everything's in your name."

"Holy shit," Dean breathed, flicking through the folder which detailed the companies he had shares in, rental properties he owned, and the final profit and loss statements. There wasn't enough to live off forever, but it was a decent buffer, especially if he did move in with Cas and Gabriel.

"Dean," Crowley said, and all three looked up at him again. "I've always taken care of you. I was seriously worried about you these last few months. If leaving is what it's going to take to fix you, then I'll have my accountants work out your severance pay."

Cas was grinning like a Cheshire, and Gabriel was looking quite smug as well. Dean, however, knew that tone of voice, and raised an eyebrow. Crowley nodded at him, liking the fact that he'd picked up on it.

"I have been looking into opening an escort service in Los Angeles," he continued. "Naturally, I'll need someone to manage it if I'm going to be staying here with my brothels. I want you to consider taking the position."

Dean gaped at him, completely sideswiped. He'd screwed up big time, needed professional psychiatric help, and Crowley… was offering a promotion?

"I, uh, that is…"

"I seem to remember that response," Crowley leaned back in his chair. "Think it over. I still need to work out the legalities – bloody uptight Californians, worse than the Victorian Era – so I'll contact you in a few months for your decision. Deal?"

"I'll think about it," Dean managed to tell him.

-MWM-

"Dean, are you sure about this?" Sam was hovering, worried, as Dean packed his things. Gabriel had informed Dean that he was coming back with them, and he didn't feel like arguing. He had the feeling that he was running away again, but couldn't find it in him to care. Things were finally looking up – even if Gabriel still had trouble touching him for long or without Castiel present.

"I'm sure," Dean taped up the box he'd filled with his DVD collection. "Danni said she'll take care of my stuff until we know what we're gonna keep and what to sell off."

"Stop, Dean, and talk to me," Sam pulled Dean up to face him. "We haven't really talked since I got here."

"It's been longer than that," Dean pointed out. He was tired of dealing with Sam's issues as well as his own. "You can deny it all you want, but when you left for college, you didn't look back. You only introduced Jess to me at her insistence, when you decided to marry her. You're ashamed of the fact that I've been whoring myself out to give you the best possible future."

"It's not like that," Sam tried to insist, but Dean shook his head.

"Yes, it is. I know that you love me, but you hate my profession. And that's fine, but you cut yourself off from me. I can't deal with you on top of everything else, Sammy. Just give me some space to adjust to having the love of my life around again, and then we can try to reconnect."

Sam hung his head, trying to hide how much Dean's words hurt. What made them worse was that they had the ring of truth – Sam had done his best to keep Dean out of his college life.

"I'll just… we were meant to head back this evening anyway. A few hours early won't make much difference."

Dean nodded, before he went to a box he'd kept in his bedside drawer for years.

"Here, Sammy. A wedding gift."

Sam opened the box, and felt his insides clench. He recognised the rings – their parents' wedding bands – and knew that Dean approved of Jess, whatever else was between them.

"I, uh… I'll call," Sam went to reach out, only to have Dean move backwards, almost subconsciously.

"Sure you will. Just… just give me some time."

-MWM-

Castiel woke up smiling. Gabriel was wrapped around him from behind, as was usual even when they didn't have sex before sleeping. In front of him, however, was Dean – fast asleep, but with his arm draped over Castiel's waist. He was fairly sure that the only way things could be better, would be for them all to be naked.

And, of course, if he wasn't dying for a piss.

Mentally grumbling, he slipped out of the grasp of both males, somehow managing to escape the bed without waking them. Once done with the bathroom, he decided to make a start on coffee, since Gabriel needed to be at work in two hours, with Castiel's class starting a little after noon. Dean hadn't found another job yet, but he was spending his time looking at houses – they'd decided that buying a place would be a better option than renting another tiny apartment, since they now had enough income and savings.

Gabriel felt the loss of heat in his sleep, and rolled forwards. He felt another warm body and snuggled into it, sighing in contentment when he felt arms wrap around him.

Something about the body was off, however, and the thought entered his mind that it wasn't Castiel. He felt different, body harder and leaner, and he was definitely taller. Opening his eyes a little, Gabriel stiffened when he realised it was Dean holding him, and Castiel was nowhere to be seen.

After a few seconds, Dean frowned and opened his eyes, realising quickly what was wrong. Gabriel was looking at him with wide eyes, breathing fast and obviously trying not to panic.

"Hey, Gabe," Dean whispered, slowly disentangling them. Once he was no longer trapping Gabriel in his arms, the older man seemed to relax a little, and it made Dean breathe a little easier. He moved his head closer, still moving slowly and giving Gabriel time to back away if he wanted to.

Apparently, he didn't want to, and Dean gently took his mouth in a slow, deep kiss. Soon Gabriel was responding, not as enthusiastically as he would have liked, but it was still a response.

Dean moved away from Gabriel's mouth and started trailing soft, close-mouthed kisses along his neck. This drew a delightful sound from the shorter man, who rolled onto his back to allow better access. Taking his time, Dean kissed and licked at Gabriel's pectorals and nipples for several minutes. Until Gabriel grabbed his shoulders and pushed him further down, growling a little in his arousal.

Undoing the drawstring of Gabriel's sleeping pants took no time at all, and Dean gave in to both his and Gabriel's desires. He leaned down and started sucking on the head of Gabriel's cock, drawing a whine from his throat. Soon Dean was bobbing his head, tracing the underside with his tongue, everything he'd learned in his years as a prostitute. He was still no good at deep-throating, so brought a hand up to stroke along the part of Gabriel's erection that didn't fit in his mouth.

Castiel stood, leaning against the doorframe and grinning like a maniac. Watching the two men he loved in the throes of passion was a huge turn-on, and he debated simply staying there and watching. Then Gabriel started whimpering, making small, clutching motions with his hands, and he realised that his brother was starting to lose his nerve.

Gabriel was starting to panic – he was enjoying what Dean was doing, yes, but he was still scared about how far it might go. He let out another whimper, mixed distress and arousal, then felt another mouth cover his own.

Opening his eyes, he saw Castiel kneeling next to the bed, leaning forwards to kiss him, lending him both comfort and strength. Letting his eyes fall shut again, Gabriel moaned into the kiss and brought his hands up, one to caress the back of Castiel's neck, the other to run through Dean's hair.

Dean watched as the brothers kissed, and started moving faster. He was determined to reassure Gabriel that his touch would bring pleasure instead of pain, and the message seemed to be sinking in.

It wasn't long before Gabriel was arching his back, shouts swallowed by Castiel and semen swallowed by Dean. He fell back on the bed, breathing hard and shaking a little as Castiel moved down his body to lap at him, helping Dean to clean him.

When he lifted his head again, Gabriel wished he could get hard again so quickly. Dean and Cas were kissing deeply, hands roaming and caressing. Without warning, Dean reached down and lifted Cas over Gabriel, laying him down on the bed next to his brother without breaking the kiss.

Castiel quickly spread his legs, eager for more, and Dean obliged him by removing their sleeping pants as rapidly as he could. He then fell back on top of Cas, reaching between them to stroke at him.

Then he felt another hand slip between them, reaching further down, and he looked up. Gabriel had used the time they were getting undressed to fetch the lube and slick up his fingers. He started gently probing at Castiel, smiling a little at Dean who grinned back, leaning across to kiss him again.

"Fuck, yes!" Their silence so far was broken as Castiel felt Gabriel's finger inside him, and Dean's hand on his cock.

Dean discovered that it was rather difficult to maintain a kiss when both participants were smiling. So instead he nuzzled at Gabriel's neck as the older Novak prepared the younger for him, rutting against Castiel's leg a little to relieve the building ache.

He didn't dare try to enter Cas until Gabriel gave the okay, but it was still sexy as all hell watching Gabriel touch his little brother. Now that Dean knew it was consensual on both sides, he could admit to them being really hot together.

Then Dean felt a hand close around his cock, and he let out a gasp as Gabriel led him forwards, positioning him so that he slid into Castiel without hurting the smaller male. He let out a groan as Castiel lifted his legs up, and helped position them against Dean's shoulders.

Gabriel watched Castiel's face carefully for any sign of discomfort, but all he saw was bliss. His brother was in heaven, and Gabriel needed to be a part of it. So he lay down on his side next to Cas and drew him in for a kiss, then let one hand trail down to wrap around his little brother's erection. Dean's hand joined his, as they both jacked Castiel off.

It wasn't long before the multitude of sensations sent Cas over the edge, and he bit down on Gabriel's shoulder to contain his shout of pleasure. This in turn set Dean off, thrusting deep into Cas and groaning as he found release.

"Well," Gabriel grinned as his two young lovers lay catching their breath. "That was a nice way to wake up. Same time tomorrow?"


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Cas decides to take control in getting the others more comfortable.

Warnings: Sexual references, sneaky Castiel, domesticated Dean, and Gabe having a freak-out.

-MWM-

Gabriel left for work only reluctantly – Castiel had to forcibly push him out the door – and then Cas and Dean were left alone together. Dressing took longer than usual, with the pair constantly finding excuses to touch each other, then Cas spread out his classwork on the bed while Dean went to fetch the morning newspaper.

"This one's not bad," he muttered a little later. "Ugh, no, bad area."

Castiel grinned to himself. Dean hadn't realised that he was speaking his thoughts, but it was quite entertaining. More so than his current assignment, anyway.

"Oooh, this one!" Dean then shoved a listing underneath Cas' nose. "That one, we should get it!"

"…You only want it because of the name of the suburb, don't you?"

"Well, it's cool. But look at the house, it's in a decent area, not far from shops – and it says it needs some work. I could fix it up for us! I did maintenance for a while for Crowley, it couldn't be that much different."

"When's the showing?" Castiel grinned up at him again, and Dean quickly scanned the ad again.

"Friday morning at eleven. You free then?"

"'Fraid not. Gabe should be if he finishes up his project tomorrow, the two of you can go check it out."

Dean paused, shifting slightly. Naturally Cas caught the motion and gave him a sceptical look.

"I'm not sure that's a great idea," Dean muttered. "We're still not really comfortable around each other…"

"Dean, you'll be looking at a house and deciding whether or not you want to buy it. There doesn't have to be any romantic overtones. I'll say the same thing to Gabe when I get home tonight – I can't always be here as a buffer."

"Yes, sir," Dean saluted, grinning.

"Oh, shut up."

-MWM-

That night, Gabriel came home to find Dean asleep on the couch. He grinned a little and went to the kitchen in search of food, only to pause. Taped to the fridge was a page torn from the newspaper, one listing circled. Written next to it was a note from Dean: We're going to check this one out on Friday. Cas' orders. Your dinner's in the oven, should still be warm, leave a plate for Cas.

Gabriel smiled a bit more, looking over the listing, then he checked the food, surprised. Dean had turned out to actually be a decent cook, and now there were two plates of casserole in the oven. The oven was on a low heat, so the food was at a perfect temperature for Gabriel to dig in. Which he did.

By the time he'd finished and was using some bread to mop up the liquid, Dean had roused himself and was sitting up on the couch, rubbing at his eyes.

"Hey Gabe." Pausing, Dean tried to remember when he'd started calling Gabriel that, then shrugged. Something he'd picked up from Castiel, most likely.

"Hey," Gabriel nodded back, finishing the last of his meal. "That was good. Haven't eaten since breakfast."

"Glad you like it," Dean grinned easily. "Danni taught me. Figured I should have something respectable to offer whoever I decided to settle down with."

"She was sure you'd settle down?"

"Eventually, yeah. She pretty much adopted me and Sam, and was determined that I'd find something better for myself."

"It was mentioned that Crowley helped raise Sam, too…" Gabriel paused.

"Yeah, sorta," Dean shrugged. "He paid for everything. One of the stipulations for getting Sammy into this really posh school, was that he had to keep his grades up and meet with Crowley. So he was sort of like a rich uncle."

"That you slept with," Gabriel commented.

"Well, yeah. Started a few days after I turned eighteen. Before that he never made any advances, since he saw me as a kid. Then we slept together whenever it was convenient – it wasn't a relationship at any point, if that's what you're worried about."

"Not worried," Gabriel sat down near to Dean on the couch, turning to face him and resting his head against the back. "Just curious… your life's been so different. I guess I don't really understand the things you've done or been through."

"Maybe," Dean looked down, considering. "It didn't seem that odd at the time. I just kept doing whatever it took to keep Sammy safe. Not that he forgives me for it now. At the time, he seemed to understand my need to protect him."

"Hmm." Gabriel frowned. Sam had been trying to reach out to his brother while they were there, he'd seen that, but he didn't know the whole story.

"And I guess I really don't know what you and Cas went through," Dean continued. "I mean, I took up drinking, but never got into anything stronger."

"Yeah, that was a shock," Gabriel nodded. "I don't think I've ever been so scared as when Cas ran away from here and blew a guy in the park for… something, I don't even know what it was. But he didn't have any idea who I was, just kept trying to kiss me and rub against me. He was so out of it… I managed to get him to sleep it off, but if he'd been determined, he could've overpowered me."

The two stayed silent for a moment, each digesting the knowledge they'd gained.

"Gabe, Cas can't come to the showing on Friday. Are… are we gonna be okay together?"

Gabriel took a deep breath, then nodded.

"We kinda have to be. Look at us now, we're having a conversation when Cas isn't here. We can do this."

"Okay," Dean nodded, and reached out to gently rub the back of his fingers across Gabriel's cheek. The older man closed his eyes, and found that it was quite pleasant. Dean clearly cared about him, perhaps not as much as he cared about Castiel, but they could do this.

-MWM-

"I want it."

"Gabe, we have to look at it first," Dean stifled a laugh.

"Don't care, it's in San Gabriel! I want it!" The shorter man was shifting in the seat of the Impala, chewing on a stick of raspberry liquorice Dean bought for him at the gas station. He'd quickly remembered that the best way to appease Gabriel was to offer him sugar of some variation.

"We're here," Dean pulled up outside their potential new house. Both men looked it over, then shared a glance. It didn't look anything special, but it wasn't obviously run down.

The inside was in fairly good condition, other than the horrible paint job.

"First thing to go is the pink living room," Gabriel muttered.

"Deal. Then the puke-green bathroom." Dean agreed.

By the time they left, it was decided – it needed a complete re-decoration, and the yard needed work, but this was going to be home.

-MWM-

"So, how'd it go?" Cas looked up from the couch as the others walked in from their day-trip. Gabriel shrugged, then paused and looked at him sharply.

"Didn't you have a class to go to?"

"Nope," Cas turned back to his book. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"You did…" Dean narrowed his eyes, as Castiel proceeded to look innocent. "You just wanted us to spend today together without you there."

"Pretty much." Cas continued to read, a small smile on his face.

Gabriel and Dean both looked at him, then at each other, and nearly identical looks of mischief crossed their faces.

"Fine," Gabriel stuck up his nose. "Come along Dean, we'll have our noon-time shenanigans by ourselves."

"Righto," Dean put his arm around Gabriel's shoulder, bending down a little to press a kiss to Gabriel's temple as they walked to the bedroom.

"Hey!" Castiel stood quickly and ran to tackle them both. This ended with all three in a pile on the floor, Gabriel trapped on top of Dean with Castiel sitting astride him. He was strangely comfortable with that, especially when Cas leaned forwards to kiss Dean over his shoulder, making sure to nip at Gabriel's neck on the way down.

Gabriel moved to wrap one leg around Castiel's hip, noticing that Dean was doing the same. As a result, Dean's rapidly growing erection was pressed against his arse, while Castiel was slowly grinding down against him – and it was suddenly too much.

He let out a whimper, starting to struggle, and Castiel immediately jumped back as though burned.

"Gabe?"

"I… I can't!" Gabriel scrambled up and disappeared into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

"…Fuck," Dean muttered, seeing first-hand the consequences of his previous actions.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Dean thinks of a way to help Gabe get over his fear. Yes, we have more smut.

Warnings: Gay sex, voyeurism/masturbation.

-MWM-

"Gabriel?" Cas was sitting on the floor next to the bathroom door. "C'mon, it's gonna be okay. Dean's baking you a pie, we're not going to do anything more. I promise."

"What's his favourite type?" Dean asked quietly, pulling different ingredients from the cupboard. "We don't have much… is apple okay?"

"Apple's fine," Gabriel said as he opened the door, looking thoroughly ashamed. "I'm sor–"

"Don't you dare apologise," Dean looked at him, staying in the kitchen. "Not your fault that I put you off anal sex."

"Okay," Gabriel managed to smile a little at that.

"Anyway," Castiel took his arm and gently pulled Gabriel towards the kitchen. "So, about the house."

"Yeah, the house," Gabriel nodded. "The walls need to be repainted, or wallpapered, or something, and the yard's pretty overgrown. But it's nice, should do for us. And we can afford it, too."

"Great," Castiel grinned. The two brothers sat at the small kitchen table, watching as Dean set about baking a pie for Gabriel. This was going to take some time.

-MWM-

Dean growled as he shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. It was one step forwards, three steps back – he and Gabriel had been getting along okay, but for the last week Gabriel had shied away from any touch Dean tried to initiate. It was frustrating.

Without bothering to dress, he started the process of shaving. His stubble had been growing a little too long, and it was starting to annoy him.

When he heard someone clattering about in the kitchen, Dean rolled his eyes. Despite living by themselves together for seven years or so, neither Gabriel nor Castiel could cook a decent meal to save their lives. They'd scraped by on take out, frozen dinners and occasional leftovers they managed to snag from parties. So the fact that Dean could create a meal that wasn't charcoal or raw meant that he was regarded as a culinary master by the brothers.

"Anyone here?" He heard Gabriel shout, and he mentally groaned. Cas had gone grocery shopping not long ago, so wouldn't be back for another hour at least. Castiel had resumed his position as buffer between them, and without him here things were rather strained.

"Yeah," Dean finally called out, proud of himself for managing to finish shaving without cutting himself.

"Where is–" Gabriel froze as he opened the bathroom door to see Dean standing naked in front of the sink. His mouth dried out immediately, and he couldn't help it as his eyes ran up and down the expanse of naked flesh before him. "I, uh…"

"Gabriel," Dean spoke softly, recognising the spark of desire alongside the hated, but familiar, fear. "Please don't run away." He put down the razor and turned slowly, holding out his hand to the other man.

Gabriel swallowed hard, eyes lingering on Dean's flaccid cock as it slowly started to fill with blood. He could feel himself getting turned on, but the thought of Dean pinning him down was still enough to make him want to run.

"Gabe, would it… would it help if you fucked me?" Dean asked, taking a guess. "I'll be underneath you, you could leave at any time." The idea was causing him to harden even faster, and he saw Gabriel lick his lips.

Meanwhile, Gabriel was finding himself liking the idea more and more. He stepped forwards a little, taking Dean's hand and drawing him down, close enough for a kiss.

"It might," he admitted, pulling away a little. "I can't… I'll try not to hurt you."

"I know," Dean nodded, nuzzling his nose into Gabriel's hair. "I know. Where do you want me?" He reached out and laid his hands against Gabriel's hips, massaging slightly as he tried to soothe his shorter companion.

"Bedroom," Gabriel whispered, stepping back a little. "More comfortable."

Dean smiled and followed, before shifting to rest on the bed. He was filled with exuberance at the idea of Gabriel relaxing around him enough to go through with this, though he wasn't sure that they'd manage to finish. But he'd do his best to make it good for Gabriel, and maybe he'd be able to get over his fear.

Gabriel took a deep breath as he retrieved the lube from the bedside drawer, and shed his clothes before he knelt on the bed next to Dean. The taller man surprised him a little by getting down on all fours and taking Gabriel's cock into his mouth. He was sucking lightly, enough to keep Gabriel's interest but not enough to get him off, and Gabriel was reminded of how Dean had earned a living these last few years.

He swallowed hard, then leaned forwards over Dean's back to run his hands over the bare skin. Slicking his fingers took a few tries, before he was able to concentrate enough to start pressing a finger into Dean.

Dean hummed in delight as he felt Gabriel regaining his confidence and be able to explore his body. He concentrated on pleasing Gabe, without reaching out to touch him anywhere else.

Though he was starting to feel nervous again, Gabriel focused on stretching Dean open. He felt that if he could go through with this, then maybe he'd be able to get over the fact that Dean had violated him. Then he wrenched his mind away from that thought – if he let himself remember what happened, he wouldn't be able to do this.

"Okay," Gabriel said, pulling back a little. "Let's do this."

Whilst not the most romantic of declarations, Dean lifted his head and smiled at him, then turned around.

Gabriel took a moment to control his breathing before he tried to get closer. He found it hilarious that he'd stood up to Lucian for Cas' wellbeing without a second thought, but having sex with someone was scaring him so much.

Shaking his head to dislodge irrelevant thoughts, Gabriel settled himself between Dean's legs and guided himself to slide into the other man fairly easily.

Unnoticed by either of them, Cas stood just outside the door, watching. While he was getting incredibly turned on, and really wanted to join them, he knew that this was between Gabriel and Dean. They needed to do this, to do things without him around, if living like this was going to work.

Didn't mean he couldn't watch though.

The sound of Dean's groan as Gabriel was finally buried inside him sent sparks down both Novak men's spines. Cas made a decision, and undid his trousers enough to get his hand inside his underwear, stroking himself in time to Gabriel's thrusts into Dean.

As Gabriel moved, he started losing himself to how good it felt. He kept his strokes slow and deep, resting his hands on Dean's lower back to keep his balance. Dean was following his moves, falling into the rhythm easily.

Soon, Gabriel was speeding up, comfortable enough to start letting his control go. He could feel that he was getting close to orgasm, and leaned down to cover Dean's back with his chest. It was something he couldn't help – biting at his partner during sex – and something Cas had never minded.

Dean felt the restrained nips, and arched his back for more contact. It was a relief to realise that Gabriel was letting go a bit, and Dean felt as the thrusts became more haphazard as the man behind him was getting closer to his climax. He reached down to stroke himself, guessing correctly that Gabriel wouldn't be ready for that yet.

Castiel bit his lip to contain any sounds. Having live porn in his bedroom was a wonderful thing, and he could see Gabriel becoming more comfortable. He noticed the signs of Gabe fast approaching orgasm, and did his best not to crow in triumph.

After several minutes, Gabriel finally felt as his body tensed, this time in a good way. He bit down harder on Dean's shoulder and thrust erratically, coming inside Dean and collapsing on his back.

Deciding that was his cue, Castiel slipped into the room and nudged them both so that Gabriel fell to the bed and Dean lay on his side. Cas lowered his head and quickly sucked at Dean's still-hard cock, drawing him to orgasm quickly.

"So," he said once he'd finished cleaning Dean off, "feel better, you two?"

"Much," Gabriel muttered, throwing an arm around Dean's waist to hug him closer. "You need to get off too?"

"Nah, just need to change pants."

"Right," Dean grinned sleepily in triumph. His plan had worked – granted, he probably wouldn't be taking Gabriel any time soon, but at least they were comfortable again.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: This one is pretty much fluff, with a bit of smut thrown in for good measure. Check the final author's note at the end.

Warnings: Gabriel being Gabriel, the others being mean (in Gabriel's view), blowjob, sandwich (Gabby's getting over his issues), cavity-inducing sweetness.

-MWM-

The purchase of the house went smoothly, and soon the three were going through their new residence, figuring out what could be fixed, what needed to be replaced, and what colours they wanted to paint the walls.

"Tangerine," Gabriel declared as they stood in the living room. Castiel and Dean looked at him for a moment. "What? Perfectly good colour."

"I motion that Gabriel not be allowed to choose colour schemes," Dean deadpanned.

"Seconded," Castiel nodded.

"Motion carried."

"Awww…"

"The beauty of living in a democracy," Dean shrugged. "We've always got a tie-breaker."

"I can think of something more fun to do with ties," Gabriel leered at him. Dean shuddered.

"That look should be illegal."

"It is," Cas commented as he wandered into the next room.

It took a while, but eventually they decided on more normal colours for the house. They gave in and let Gabriel choose to paint the bedroom walls each a different colour, though he hadn't told them which colours yet.

The back garden was fairly small, but Castiel liked it. There was a lot of green, and he immediately decided that he wanted to learn how to take care of it properly. It was also enclosed, which led to Gabriel getting down on his knees, folding his hands in front of his chest and begging for a puppy.

"Gabriel," Castiel sighed and closed his eyes. "No. You're not getting a puppy."

"But I'll feed it and walk it and clean its messes! Please, Cas!"

"No."

"Fine," Gabriel pouted for a moment, then turned to Dean.

"No," Dean spoke before Gabriel could even open his mouth. "I'm not buying you one either."

"Hmmph," Gabriel got up and wandered back into the house. Dean then turned to Castiel, a resigned look on his face.

"We'll be getting him one for Christmas, won't we?"

"Yep," Castiel sighed. "Just don't tell him that."

-MWM-

Over the next few weeks Gabriel became swamped with work, Castiel settled into his new routine of studying and cleaning the old apartment, and Dean got to work on the house. The lease on the apartment wasn't quite up yet, but they used the time to get their new home ready for occupation.

Dean frequently came back to the apartment exhausted from manual labour, and Gabriel was working late a lot, which meant that there wasn't much further exploration in the bedroom. All three were about ready to explode from the sexual build-up, which hadn't previously been a problem. Now that they'd had a proper taste, however, and Gabriel was finding himself more at ease around Dean, they wanted to be able to spend a day in bed together, figuring out how they all fit in.

Castiel lasted two weeks, before coming home one day to find Dean in the shower. He made up his mind and walked on in, stripping as he did so. He was going to miss this shower – it had been privy to a few of his fondest memories.

"Cas?" Dean was taken by surprise as the stall door was opened, and Castiel slid to his knees. "Wha- oh. Oh, go right ahead."

"I plan to," Cas muttered, then reached out to stroke and lap at Dean's cock, bringing him to hardness quickly. He stroked himself at the same time, enjoying the feeling of Dean's hands running through his hair, sometimes grasping tight and pulling, mostly just stroking along his scalp.

Soon, Dean gripped Castiel's head tighter, hips moving of their own accord, and he came in Cas' mouth, watching as his lover easily swallowed it down. He then grabbed Castiel's upper arms and hauled him up, sinking to his own knees to return the favour.

When Gabriel came home late that night, it was to find Dean finishing up cooking dinner, with Cas sitting on the counter getting in the way. He had to laugh at the sight of them, then moved forwards and caught Dean in a hug from behind.

"Evening, wifey!"

"I'm not your wife," Dean tried to glare, but was difficult when Cas was laughing at him, and Gabriel was nuzzling between his shoulder blades.

"You're cooking my dinner, the pair of you are doing the housework, I'm the one earning most of the income… that makes the pair of you my wives." He presented it as though it was perfectly logical, and Castiel shrugged.

"Fair enough. Speaking of housework, Dean finished the last of the painting today. So we can move in this weekend."

"Yay!" Gabriel hugged Dean tighter again, making him roll his eyes.

"You're an overgrown child, aren't you?" He managed to escape the hug to finish cooking.

"Pretty much," Gabriel admitted.

-MWM-

"You're sure about this?" Dean whispered, suddenly nervous.

"Positive," Gabriel nodded, stepping back and stripping out of his shirt. "I want to do this."

"Sounds good to me," Castiel grinned, tugging on Dean's pants. "We've gotta break in the bedroom sometime."

Dean smiled back, and joined the others in undressing. While they'd spoken about group sex before, they'd never actually gone through with it. Now Gabriel had decided that he was going to go through with it, and it was usually not worth the effort to change his mind when he was determined.

While Dean grabbed the lubrication, Gabriel and Castiel lay down sideways across their large bed, Gabriel cuddling into his little brother's chest. He wanted this, yes, but he was still nervous. Having Castiel here would go a long way to easing him back into it. Cas' hands were running along his skin, rubbing his back and caressing his chest. Soon he was returning the affection, kissing Castiel as Dean started caressing both their arses and laying kisses along their hips and legs.

When he felt that Gabriel was relaxed enough to continue, Dean slowly started rubbing his slick fingers against both men's holes, pressing in once he felt them pressing back against him. He was relieved to notice that Gabriel only had a little more hesitation than Castiel, and it wasn't long before he was stretching both men, taking care not to hurt either of them.

Gabriel did his best to relax against the intrusion, something made easier by the feel of Castiel rubbing against him, arms wrapped tightly around him. He could feel Dean's fingers moving inside him, twisting, stretching and searching.

"Fuck, that's it!" Castiel muttered, fingers digging into Gabriel's back as Dean found his prostate and started rubbing against it as he continued stretching him. Gabriel nipped at Cas' shoulder, whining a little as Dean found the right angle for him as well.

"Damn, no wonder you got paid for this," Gabe ground out. "You're good!"

"Just good?" Dean grinned, not taking offense at the comment. "I can do better than that, I'm sure."

"Shut up and get on with it!" Castiel ordered, throwing one leg over Gabriel's waist. Gabriel looked over at Dean and nodded – he was ready, they could do this.

"Okay," Dean withdrew from both of them, and Castiel rolled over onto his back, shoving a pillow under his hips to help with access. He didn't mind the discomfort this position gave, as long as he got to watch Gabriel and Dean's faces. Gabriel crawled above Castiel, easily settling between the spread legs which then came up to hook around him. He pressed forwards gently, guided by Dean, and was soon buried inside his little brother.

"You okay?" Gabriel asked. It had been quite a while since they'd last done this together, after all.

"Shut the fuck up," Cas growled. "Dean, get in him so we can have fun again."

"Bossy," Dean laughed, unable to contain his joy at the whole situation. He climbed up onto his knees, one hand rubbing Gabriel's back as he guided himself into his older lover.

Gabriel tensed briefly at the intrusion, but forced himself to relax and breathe. Dean was going slowly, stroking his back at the same time, and Castiel was running his hands over Gabriel's chest. He knew that Cas wouldn't let him get hurt again, and Dean had done everything he could to make up for what had happened. They could do this, they could enjoy themselves.

Eventually, Dean came to rest inside Gabriel, then reached around him to wrap a hand around Castiel's neglected erection, drawing a pleased-sounding hum from him.

"Will you fucking move?" Castiel muttered after a moment, kicking lightly at whoever he could reach at the odd angle. This just caused both other men to laugh, then they set about trying to find the best way to move.

It did take a few minutes, but soon Dean had taken control, his thrusts into Gabriel causing the oldest to thrust into Castiel. Dean kept up his strokes to Cas' cock, watching as both Novaks started to come undone.

Gabriel was letting out small moans of pleasure, the stimulation nearly too much to bear. He could only just manage the concentration to rest his hands on Castiel's chest, digging in with his fingers now and then, happy to go with the flow for the first time in a long time. Castiel was rather more vocal about his enjoyment of the situation, as he always had been, and ran his hands over every bit of skin he could reach, on both his lovers.

With Dean's cock brushing his prostate and Castiel's muscles clenching around his own dick, Gabriel was the first to give in to pleasure. He threw his head back, resting it on Dean's shoulder as he whimpered and gasped, muscles tightening as he came. Feeling this, knowing that he'd had a part in causing it, tipped Dean over the edge just a few heartbeats after. He bent his neck slightly and bit into Gabriel's shoulder, unable to hold back from it. The two had just enough awareness to both reach down, stroking Castiel at the same time. It wasn't long before he was arching his back, shouting their names as he found his own climax.

The three collapsed in a pile on the bed, Gabriel content with his place between Castiel and Dean. He could feel someone – he wasn't sure which exactly – pressing kisses to his skin, and smiled.

"Well," he started, then paused for breath. "Well, I think the bedroom's well and truly broken in, yes?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded.

"Yep," Castiel agreed against Gabriel's skin, revealing who was still kissing him. "Next we break in the bathroom. Shower should be big enough to shag in."

"You're insatiable," Gabriel muttered, feeling Dean's chest shake with laughter behind him.

"You hadn't figured that out by now?" Castiel replied cheekily, to simultaneous groans from the others.

"Cas," Dean muttered, snuggling into Gabriel some more. "Shut up and let us sleep. Talk later."

"As you wish," Cas smiled, curling into Gabriel's arms.

-MWM-

Gabriel awoke to the feeling of someone licking his face. While this wasn't altogether unfamiliar, it was rather odd, and the breath was definitely wrong. Same with the length of the tongue. So he opened his eyes to shout at whoever was molesting him in his sleep.

What he saw changed his mind completely. There was a small puppy sitting on his pillow, licking his face and wagging its tail. Gabriel sat up suddenly, scooping the dog up and cuddling it close. He looked around and saw Dean and Castiel, leaning against the wall with an arm around each other, watching at him.

"You got me a puppy!" Gabriel beamed at them, unable to believe it.

"Yep," Cas grinned back. "Now the yard's fixed up, we know there's no holes in the fence, and, well… we love you."

"We know you'll take care of it," Dean continued. "So why not give you what you want?"

Gabriel looked down at the puppy, which wasn't much bigger than his hand. It was clearly old enough to be away from its mother, but was still tiny.

"What sort is it?"

"Jack Russell Terrier," Dean shrugged. "It'll have about as much energy as you do, and doesn't require much grooming."

"Excellent! Does it have a name?" Gabriel had already started playing with the puppy, only giving his lovers half of his attention.

"Not yet," Castiel was holding back laughter. "He's a boy. Need to wait a few months before we can get him desexed, but he's already microchipped."

"Hmm… How about Toffee?" Gabriel scratched at a toffee-coloured patch on the dog's back. Dean rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

"He's your dog," Cas said, resigned. "If you want to call him Toffee…"

"I do," Gabriel nodded, then left the puppy on the bed to go and thank his lovers properly. He kissed each of them thoroughly, making sure they knew how much he appreciated them. Then, naturally, he grabbed Toffee and ran out of the bedroom to give the dog a guided tour of the house and garden.

"I think he likes it," Castiel grinned up at Dean.

"Yeah," he grinned back, bending his neck to capture Cas' lips himself. "We did good."

-MWM-

A/N: We've crossed the 50K mark – not counting author's notes and warnings and such! Woot! And… I'm not sure what else needs to be done after this chapter. There's something that could be the basis for a follow-up, and the Sam issue wasn't really resolved… but that happens in life all the time. If there's something that I haven't cleared up, let me know and I'll put it in an epilogue, otherwise consider this the final chapter.

…I feel sad now. Ah well, off to work on Vessel Hunters… and figure out what to write for the Dean/Gabriel Mini-Bang. Any suggestions?


End file.
